8 Yoga Poses for Beginners

Sit cross-legged on a yoga mat with your hands on your knees, palms up. Keep your spine as straight as you can. Push the bones you’re sitting on down into the floor — your “sit bones” in yoga-speak. Close your eyes and inhale.

Get on your mat on all fours with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Distribute your weight equally between your hands and spread your fingers wide. Inhale and round your back, arching it up as you lower your chin to your chest; feel the stretch from your neck to your tailbone, like a cat. As you exhale, lower your back down all the way to a scoop shape as you lift your head, and tilt it back.

Start by standing straight for this pose. Bring your hands together in the prayer position and lift them over your head. Balance on your right leg. Bend your left knee out to the left side and press your left foot to the inner thigh of your right leg, or even just your ankle. (To avoid injury, though, never press your foot into your knee.) Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

In Downward-Facing Dog, your body forms an inverted V-shape. Start by placing both hands on the mat in front of you, palms down; your hands should be slightly in front of your shoulders. Place your knees on the ground directly under your hips. Exhale as you lift your knees off the ground and lift your buttocks and hips toward the ceiling. Push the top of your thighs back and stretch your heels down toward the floor. Keep your head down between your upper arms and in line with them, not hanging down. If you notice your lower back rounding, try bending your knees to help lengthen your back.

From Downward-Facing Dog, simply bend your knees and lower your butt to your heels as you bring your chest toward the floor over your knees. Lower your shoulders and head to the floor. Place your arms along your sides, palms down, or you can support your head by folding your arms under your forehead. Breathe and relax for as long as you need to.

From all fours, move your right knee forward between your hands. As though you were doing a lunge, slowly straighten your left leg behind you, keeping the knee and top of the foot on the floor. Now rotate the right knee toward the right wrist and bring it down to the floor with your right calf flat on the floor and your right foot resting under your left groin. Lower your upper body over the bent leg, either all the way to the floor or resting on your elbows. Slowly inhale and exhale five times. Before you change sides, push back on your left leg to stretch the calf muscles. Repeat with your left leg bent and right leg extended.

This pose is a favorite for runners because it boosts hip flexibility and also releases the glutes and low back, Lawrence says. “If you run, lift weights, do CrossFit, or Spin, you must do this stretch to keep strong and flexible and enhance your performance,” she says. It may be challenging at first, but you’ll learn to love this pose, Lawrence promises.

Stand still, with your chest open and broad and your hands at your sides, and feel your feet on the floor and the sensations in your legs and back. Then analyze your posture in front of a mirror. Lawrence makes her athletes hold long pencils in each hand as they stand. “I tell them to look down at the pencils and, like a compass, see how they point. Are they the same? Does one point straight and the other point to three on the clock?”

This pose will show if you have any imbalances in your shoulders and give you clues about what you need to work on. If one pencil is very turned in, so is your shoulder.