Things You'll Need:
- Loose, comfortable clothing
- Yoga mat or towel
- Yoga instructional book or website
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Step 1
Lie down on your back, face up, in a comfortable, quiet location.
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Step 2
Close your eyes.
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Step 3
Tense up the muscles throughout your body, one at a time, from top to bottom.
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Step 4
Concentrate on each muscle group as you go. For example, scrunch up your forehead, close your hands into fists, tighten your abdominal muscles and ball up your feet.
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Step 5
Build the tension up as you slowly inhale.
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Step 6
Release the muscle as you slowly exhale.
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Step 7
Imagine the muscle softening and relaxing as you're exhaling and releasing the tension.
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Step 1
Think about where you store tension in your body the most. For many people, it's in the shoulders, neck and lower back.
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Step 2
Research different types of yoga poses and the body parts they benefit online or in a yoga book. There are six basic types of yoga poses: standing postures, seated postures, supine postures, prone postures, balance postures and twisting postures.
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Step 3
Choose yoga poses for beginners that focus on the body parts you wish to relax and strengthen.
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Step 4
Read the full description of each pose and make sure you understand how the pose is performed before you attempt it.
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Step 5
Perform the yoga poses you've chosen daily in a quiet room on your towel or yoga mat. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and take your shoes off. Once you've mastered these poses, you can expand your routine by choosing more poses.
