Types of Yoga Poses

There are thousands of yoga poses that have been developed over time. These can be broken down into categories or groups of similar types of poses to make it easier to understand them. Each group of yoga poses is based on the body position and movement in the yoga position. Each has a unique feeling in the body and works differing sets of muscles and organs. And finally, each group also contains poses which share similar contraindications and benefits.

Dharma Mittra, a New York yoga teacher, was interested in how many classical asanas (yoga poses) exist, and catalogued photos of himself doing each pose. He made a popular wall chart, which can be seen in many yoga studios, that identifies 908 yoga poses. While even more poses than this do exist, in a given style of yoga you will only be introduced to a few hundred or less of these yoga poses. Keep in mind that some poses are hybrids, meaning they might be a standing pose and a twisting pose at the same time, or some other combination. By learning how to work a class of poses, you better know the principles of an individual one.

Standing Yoga Poses

We will start with standing poses because they are excellent for beginners to learn the fundamentals of body alignment and awareness. In studying these poses, you will improve your posture in the pose and learn how to move and hold your body in alignment.

What is alignment? In yoga poses, alignment refers to working your body intelligently and safely. You will work on extending your body in places while avoiding compression in other places, and working your body symmetrically on the left and right sides. Having alignment means acquiring a constantly circulating inner awareness while you do poses and making small changes to correct yourself. In standing poses, you should keep attention on making your spine long while extending your limbs fully. All standing poses have an element of balance, especially those in which you are standing on only one foot. Your yoga teacher can show you how to do a pose next to the wall if you feel unbalanced. Doing a standing pose next to the wall shows you how to hold your body in one plane parallel to the wall.

Balancing Yoga Poses

A good beginning standing balancing pose on one foot is the Tree Pose, or Vrksasana. Start by standing with your heels near the wall and your buttocks touching the wall lightly. Bend one leg, and place its foot on the upper inner thigh of the standing leg. Keep the standing leg strong and straight. In the Tree Pose and other standing poses, lift the kneecap of your straight leg with your thigh muscles. Press down on all parts of the sole of the foot that you are standing on. Look at a point on the floor in front of you for balance. Press the sole of the other foot into your thigh, keeping it in position as high up the leg as possible. You will first learn to hold your foot up on the thigh while your hands are in prayer position at your heart. Later, you will lift the arms straight above your head and balance. Eventually, you will be able to do the pose in the middle of the room without wall support.

If you are standing in a balancing pose, try standing on the floor instead of the yoga mat as sometimes the sponginess of the mat makes it more difficult to be steady. For some poses, a yoga block or strap may be useful.

Another type of balancing pose is done on the hands. Arm balances require strength and are even more challenging than standing balances. Balance is a metaphor for living, and balancing poses help to bring this quality into your life.

Backbends

Backbending poses create spinal opening and flexibility. A flexible spine contributes to a healthy body. As we age, our spine may calcify and become less flexible, possibly fusing. This sometimes produces a slumped posture that requires using extra energy to keep the body upright. When our spine becomes more flexible with better posture, we use less muscular effort to stay upright. As well as making the spine flexible, backbends also have emotionally healing effects. They are known to relieve depression and invigorate the practitioner. A person with a collapsed chest and sternum may also have rounding in the upper spine. This depressed posture can make a person feel depressed. Working to raise the sternum of the chest creates an uplifted mood. This is an example of the close link between body and mind. Just as a person’s mood can affect their posture, their posture can also affect their mood. Backbends open the upper spine and sternum areas and often promote happy and exhilarated feelings. Because backbends open the chest physically, there is more room for the lungs allowing more breath to enter the body, bringing energy to all parts of the body. All backbends enliven the person and will increase life force energy, which is called prana in yoga. Spiritually and emotionally uplifting, backbends open the heart.

If you are doing backbends, start with small gentle ones. Come out of the backbend and repeat several times, opening up the spine gradually with repetition. Once you have warmed up with some easy backbends, you can go on to a more difficult one, repeating it at least a couple of times to your degree of comfort and stamina.

Spinal Twists

Spinal twisting postures involve extending your spine creating maximum space between your vertebrae. After extending, you revolve the torso around the extended spine. A benefit of these twisting postures is that they can squeeze out toxins in the body as the torso twists around the organs of the body. Twists help the spine to become more flexible and strong. Some twists are performed seated and others are done from standing or inverted positions.

In all twists, it is important to work with the breath. As you breathe in, extend your spine more. As you breathe out, twist more deeply. Long, slow breaths with this focus help the twists to become deeper. Centering your breathing in yoga is always a good idea and helps to keep you from getting hurt by increasing your inner awareness.

Seated Forward Bends

Forward bend poses are stretches where the practitioner extends the torso over the legs. Forward bends do not come from the spine but rather from stretching the back legs with released hip joints. The essence of forward bends is surrender. They may bring up emotions from the release of internal emotional blockages. Some yoga students are surprised to notice how emotional they feel during a forward bend. You may notice the feeling of needing to cry or actually find yourself crying in forward bends that you have held for a few minutes or more. This is the sign of healing and is healthy. Laughter arising is also possible and is normal. This work is deep, calming and revivifying.

When you start to learn forward bends, you may find them difficult at first. As you do them more regularly, they get easier. Unlike backbends which are repeated, it is best to hold a single forward bend for 2-5 minutes or longer on each side. Some people use a timer. Spread a blanket on your yoga mat. A seated forward bend is done with one or both legs stretched out in front of you as you reach for your foot or feet. You may use a yoga strap to reach your toes. Loop the yoga strap around your feet (or foot) and hold onto it to get additional traction.

To get into a forward bend, bring your extended spine forward along with your chest. Don’t slump your chest down and try to keep your upper back from becoming rounded. Instead, lift the chest and torso forward. Imagine that you are bringing your navel to your knees, using that direction of movement in your forward bend. You can try putting bolsters on your legs for resting your forehead when holding a seated forward bend for an extended time.

You will feel the work in the hamstrings on the backs of your legs. Go slowly and do a little less than you think you can to protect your hamstrings as they can be sore after yoga class. Some forward bends open your hips as well as hamstrings. Think of surrendering into the places where you feel the stretch. Use your breath to release tension in these places. Be careful of your lower back in forward bends, as they can make lower back pain feel worse. Easy backbending poses and standing poses are usually better poses to do if you have any lower back pain.

Another group of poses are standing forward bends, such as Uttanansana. In this yoga pose, stand with feet together and reach down to touch the floor with your hands.

Hip openers relieve tight hip joints. Often done from seated positions, they can help your seated cross-legged meditation posture feel more comfortable. Joints, especially the hips as they are the body’s largest joint, are places in the body where energy can get stuck. Hip openers release this stuck energy. Doing hip openers requires surrender to the intensity you feel right around the hip in the pose. This can teach you to be present with a challenge to let go of the resistance.

Inversions

Inversions are upside down poses. The Headstand (Sirsasana) is called the “king” of yoga poses. It is an exhilarating pose that brings fresh blood supply to the brain. Learn Headstand from a yoga teacher after you have learned other types of poses. Build up slowly in the duration that you hold the pose, starting with a few seconds and eventually work up to holding it for several minutes. At first, learn to do the pose with the back of your body touching the wall, which can provide some support. Eventually, you can learn to balance further from the wall and then in center of the room. A folded mat or a yoga mat and blanket give you a small amount of cushioning under your head. Lift the shoulders up and away from your ears and the floor. We want you to keep your cervical spine safe, so find guidance from a teacher with this pose and do it properly.

Follow up your headstand with Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana), the “queen” of the asanas. The energy of doing Shoulderstand balances the energy of doing the Headstand. Shoulderstand should be done after the Headstand for an equal amount of time. Shoulderstand brings calming energy and a feeling of well-being that is quite pleasurable. Fresh blood circulation bathes your organs as you look at the world from a different direction. For most people, the Shoulderstand Pose is best done with a stack of 2-4 carefully folded blankets on a yoga mat. The blankets should be positioned under your back and shoulders with your neck and head hanging off the edge. This protects the neck when doing Shoulderstand. A yoga strap is useful and is placed around your upper arms just above the elbows, which are behind you resting on the blanket. Shoulderstand is often done on a mat without blankets in a vinyasa yoga class for a shorter period of time.

Avoid Shoulderstand and Headstand if you have neck problems. Inversions should also not be done during menstruation.

Doing these inversions can be a new and different experience when tried for the first time. Fear is possible and can be worked through with gentleness. Try easier inversions if you find that Shoulderstand and Headstand are too daunting. For example, most yoga students can assume Viparita Karani, or Legs Up the Wall Pose. It requires less strength and flexibility and there is no concern about the neck. Another alternative inversion is the use of an inversion sling, which is a yoga prop from which you hang upside down with the sling around the back of your hips. When you use an inversion sling, no pressure will be put on your head or shoulders, yet you will still get the benefits of inversions and encourage more space between your spinal vertebrae with the assistance of gravity. Those with neck and back issues can use an inversion sling safely with good effect on these problems.

Other Poses

A yoga class or practice may combine similar poses together so you can go more deeply and open your body more. Sometimes a pose that stretches muscles that are compressed can be counter balanced by a synergistic pose. A yoga teacher can advise you on the art of sequencing yoga poses.

Additional groups of poses include chest openers which are small upper backbends and shoulder openers, involving movement of the arms. These poses are great for people who sit at desks or use computers.

Shavasana, a deep relaxation pose, is done while lying on the floor, usually at the end of a class. In Shavasana, your whole body can let go, without trying to do anything but merely “be.” Once you understand one yoga pose in any of the above groups of poses, you will have begun to understand all yoga poses of that type.