Yoga poses for beginners

146 yoga poses with step-by-step instructions and how long to hold each one. Can't kneel, can't get down to the floor, or have sore wrists? Use the filters to find poses, or easier versions of them, that work for you. Or see them grouped on the body map.

• Boat Pose Navasana Intermediate A seated balance where you lean back on your sit bones and lift your legs, holding a V shape that works the abdominals and hip flexors. Seated · Hold 3–5 breaths
• Bound Angle Pose (Butterfly) Baddha Konasana Beginner A seated pose with the soles of the feet together and the knees open to the sides that stretches the inner thighs and groin. Seated · Hold 60–90 seconds
• Bow Pose Dhanurasana Intermediate A backbend lying on your stomach where you hold your ankles and lift your chest and thighs, so your body curves like a bow. Lying face down · Hold 2–3 breaths
• Bridge Pose Setu Bandha Sarvangasana Beginner A pose done lying on your back with knees bent, where you press through your feet to lift your hips, working the glutes and hamstrings. Lying on your back · Hold 3–5 breaths
• Camel Pose Ustrasana Intermediate A kneeling backbend where you lift your chest and reach back toward your heels, stretching the front of the body from thighs to throat. Kneeling · Hold 2–3 breaths
• Cat-Cow Marjaryasana-Bitilasana Beginner A gentle warm-up on hands and knees where you move between rounding and arching your spine in time with your breath. On hands and knees · Hold 5–8 rounds Try: Cat-Cow on forearms
• Chair Pose Utkatasana Beginner A standing squat-like pose where you bend your knees and sit your hips back as if lowering into a chair, building strength in the legs. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths
• Child's Pose Balasana Beginner A kneeling resting pose where you sit back toward your heels and fold forward. You can take it at any point in a yoga practice. Kneeling · Hold 30–60 seconds
• Cobra Pose Bhujangasana Beginner A gentle backbend lying face down, where you lift your chest using your back muscles while your hips stay on the floor. Lying face down · Hold 3 breaths Try: Sphinx Pose
• Corpse Pose Savasana Beginner The resting pose at the end of most yoga classes, where you lie still on your back for a few minutes and let your breathing settle. Lying on your back · Hold 3–5 minutes
• Crescent Lunge Ashta Chandrasana Beginner A standing lunge with the back heel lifted, hips facing forward, and arms reaching overhead, which works the legs and stretches the back hip. Lunge · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Dancer Pose Natarajasana Intermediate An intermediate standing balance where you hold one foot behind you and tip your chest forward, stretching the front of the lifted thigh and hip. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Downward-Facing Dog Adho Mukha Svanasana Beginner A pose on your hands and feet with the hips lifted into an upside-down V that stretches the backs of the legs and works the shoulders. On hands and feet · Hold 3–5 breaths Try: Wall Dog
• Eagle Pose Garudasana Intermediate An intermediate standing balance where you bend your knees, cross one leg over the other, and wrap your arms, stretching the upper back and outer hip. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Extended Side Angle Utthita Parsvakonasana Beginner A wide standing pose with the front knee bent, the forearm on the thigh or a hand on a block, and the top arm reaching to lengthen the side body. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Fish Pose Matsyasana Beginner A backbend lying on your back with the chest lifted, often supported on blocks or a bolster, that opens the chest and front of the shoulders. Lying on your back · Hold 5–10 breaths
• Garland Pose (Yogi Squat) Malasana Beginner A deep squat with the feet turned out, hips low, and palms together at the chest, elbows pressing gently into the inner knees. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths
• Goddess Pose Utkata Konasana Beginner A wide-legged standing squat with the toes turned out and the knees bent over the toes that works the legs and stretches the inner thighs. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths
• Half Moon Pose Ardha Chandrasana Intermediate An intermediate standing balance on one leg with one hand on a block or the floor and the other leg lifted to hip height, body turned to the side. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Happy Baby Ananda Balasana Beginner A pose on your back with the knees drawn toward the armpits and the hands holding the feet that stretches the inner thighs and hips. Lying on your back · Hold 30–60 seconds
• Humble Warrior Baddha Virabhadrasana Intermediate An intermediate Warrior I variation where you clasp your hands behind you and fold your chest inside the front knee, stretching the hips and shoulders. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Legs-Up-the-Wall Viparita Karani Beginner A resting pose where you lie on your back with your legs extended up a wall, giving a gentle stretch to the backs of the legs. Lying on your back · Hold 1–5 minutes
• Locust Pose Salabhasana Beginner A face-down backbend where you lift your chest, arms, and legs a few inches off the mat to work the muscles along the back of the body. Lying face down · Hold 3 breaths, 2–3 rounds
• Lotus Pose Padmasana Advanced An advanced cross-legged seat with each foot resting on the opposite thigh. It needs very open hips and can strain the knees. Seated · Hold a few breaths
• Low Lunge Anjaneyasana Beginner A kneeling lunge with the back knee on the mat that stretches the hip flexors at the front of the back hip. Lunge · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Mountain Pose Tadasana Beginner A basic standing pose where you stand tall with your weight even on both feet. Most standing poses start from it. Standing · Hold 5 breaths
• Pigeon Pose Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (prep) Intermediate A floor hip stretch with one shin angled in front of you and the other leg stretched back. It stretches the outer hip and glutes. Seated · Hold about 30 seconds each side
• Plank Pose Phalakasana Beginner A pose where you hold your body in a straight line from head to heels on straight arms, like the top of a push-up, to build core and arm strength. On hands and feet · Hold 3–5 breaths Try: Wall Plank
• Puppy Pose Uttana Shishosana Beginner A kneeling stretch with the hips over the knees and the arms walked forward, so the chest sinks toward the floor and the shoulders open. Kneeling · Hold 5–10 breaths
• Reclined Twist Supta Matsyendrasana Beginner A gentle twist done lying on your back, with both knees lowered to one side, that rotates the spine and stretches the outer hips. Lying on your back · Hold 5–8 breaths each side
• Seated Forward Fold Paschimottanasana Beginner A seated stretch where you hinge forward from the hips over extended legs to stretch the hamstrings and the back of the body. Seated · Hold 5–8 breaths
• Side Plank Vasisthasana Intermediate An intermediate pose where you balance on one hand and the side of one foot, body in a straight line, to build strength in the shoulders and side of the core. Arm balance · Hold 2–3 breaths each side Try: Forearm Side Plank with the knee down
• Sphinx Pose Salamba Bhujangasana Beginner A gentle backbend lying face down and propped on your forearms, with your elbows under your shoulders and your chest lifted. Lying face down · Hold 45–60 seconds
• Standing Forward Fold Uttanasana Beginner A standing pose where you hinge forward from the hips and let your head and arms hang, stretching the hamstrings and calves. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths
• Tree Pose Vrksasana Beginner A standing balance pose where you stand on one leg with the other foot pressed against your ankle, calf, or inner thigh. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Triangle Pose Trikonasana Beginner A wide-legged standing pose where you tilt sideways over the front leg, one hand down and one arm up, to stretch the legs and side body. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Upward-Facing Dog Urdhva Mukha Svanasana Beginner A backbend with straight arms where only your hands and the tops of your feet touch the floor, and your thighs lift off the mat. Lying face down · Hold 1–3 breaths Try: Sphinx Pose
• Warrior I Virabhadrasana I Beginner A standing lunge with the back foot turned out and arms overhead that strengthens the legs and stretches the front of the back hip. Lunge · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Warrior II Virabhadrasana II Beginner A wide standing pose with the front knee bent and the arms reaching out at shoulder height, used to build leg strength and endurance. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Warrior III Virabhadrasana III Intermediate An intermediate balance on one leg with the torso tipped forward and the other leg lifted behind you, body reaching toward a line parallel to the floor. Standing · Hold 3–5 breaths each side
• Wheel Pose Urdhva Dhanurasana Advanced An advanced backbend where you lie on your back and press up onto your hands and feet, lifting your whole body into an arch. Lying on your back · Hold 2–5 breaths Try: Bridge Pose
• Wind-Relieving Pose Pawanmuktasana Beginner A pose lying on your back where you hug one or both knees toward your chest, gently stretching the lower back and the backs of the hips. Lying on your back · Hold 5–8 breaths each side