As the new year approaches, people are filled with joy and fresh zeal to embrace a new beginning. There is no denying that motivation is at its highest during the initial months of the year. Thus, it is the best time to pursue a new skill or a hobby. However, pursuing a skill requires a great deal of positivity, that pushes you to achieve excellence. Speaking of positivity, what better way to invite it than through the consistent practice of yoga. The New Year is an excellent time to strengthen, manifest and reflect on things you would like to change or add in your life. You can set out on prioritizing your needs with a clear mind to evaluate them.

Yoga is an amazing way to unite your breath and body movements to ease out the feelings of stress and quieten the mind. People often feel that being agile and flexible are the only factors that qualify them to perform yoga. The truth, however, is that if you can breathe, you can perform yoga! This means everyone can reap the incredible mental and physical health benefits it has to offer. Yoga has a healing effect on the physical state of the body by enhancing flexibility and strength, which helps you push through life with ease. On a mental note, yoga utilizes the human body as a tool to unravel areas deep within the mind that requires healing.

Top Yoga Poses to Set You Up for Success

The first thing that you need to keep in mind before starting with your new yoga routine is that you must always start with the basics. Starting with basic postures will help you set up a strong foundation and prepare you for practicing yoga on a long-term basis. The other advice would be to keep reminding yourself of the benefits you get to derive from these postures. This will also keep you motivated for a prolonged amount of time.

Here are a few simple yoga poses that you can include in your yoga routine to prepare yourself for positivity and success.

Downward-Facing Dog Pose – Ardha Adho Mukha Svanasana

Downward-facing dog is a rejuvenating and strengthening complete body stretch that is often repeated during a yoga session. It is a great opportunity to keep your breathing and physical being in check. The pose helps in strengthening the abdominal muscles, improving blood circulation, enhancing digestion and decreasing anxiety disorders.

Easy Pose – Sukhasana

Easy Pose strengthens and calms the mind. The real challenge, nevertheless, lies in maintaining great posture, calming your mind and resisting the immense urge to twitch. The posture is a great way to begin a new yoga procedure. It gives you ample time to consider the reasons that motivated you to start yoga and the results you hope to gain out of it.

Chair Pose – Utkatasana

Chair pose is an amazing asana that helps you shed off all the negative effects of an inactive lifestyle and is a perfect pose to include in your yoga routine this new year. Continual practice of the posture strengthens the chest and shoulders, reduces flat feet and stimulates the diaphragm along with the abdominal organs. Additionally, it strengthens the calves, thighs, ankles, and spine, while energizing the metabolic and circulatory systems and enhancing the heart rate.

Standing Forward Bend – Uttanasana

Standing Forward Bend or Uttanasana is an incredibly soothing and detoxifying pose that aids your transition between standing and seated asanas. It keeps your spine flexible and strong while strengthening your knees and thighs. The pose reduces anxiety, depression, stress, and fatigue. Other benefits of the pose include the soothing of nerves, calming the mind, easing symptoms of asthma, headaches, menopause, and insomnia.

Sphinx Pose – Salamba Bhujangasana

Sphinx pose is an effective posture to incorporate an amazing heart opener into your yoga practice and also a gentler backbend. It opens the neck, shoulders, and throat while improving the flexibility and strength of the thoracic spine. In addition, Sphinx improves blood circulation and regulates blood pressure. Speaking of the energetic benefits, it opens the heart and throat chakras and makes you feel more alert. The pose aids an enhanced intuition and paves the way for smooth communication. Practicing Sphinx pose makes you feel open-minded, grounded and strong. It boosts your confidence by letting you access your voice, intuition and your true feelings.

Triangle Pose – Trikonasana

Triangle Pose or trikonasana helps strengthen, stretch and lengthen almost all active functional parts of your body including hamstrings, shoulders, groin muscles, hips, spine, and chest. The pose might render you with an unstable feeling initially, so, try leaning against the wall for support. The pose enhances mental and physical stability, stimulates abdominal organs and develops digestion. Regular practice of this pose reduces sciatica and back pain. It also offers great therapy for neck pain, infertility, osteoporosis, and flat feet. Additionally, it is deemed to be a cure for anxiety and stress.

 

Starting your New Year with yoga will instill an elevated sense of self-awareness, which will further help you focus on your resolutions and goals with clarity. An important thing that you must remember while practicing yoga is to stay extremely aware of your conscious state. Stay focused on your breathing and transform your awareness to the temple of your heart. Experience your true inner peace, energy, and stay motivated for yet another eventful year ahead!

 

To set you up for the new year, read our How to set Intention post here or try a Kitachi cleanse.