8 Yoga Exercises to Do at Home [2020]

This phase we are going through calls for new challenges, new habits, and positive changes that help us evolve as human beings.

Trying something new and, who knows, making it part of your daily routine—whether during social isolation or when we return to our normal lives—can be beneficial for your health and well-being.

And why not start with yoga?

The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is a complex system of spiritual, moral, and physical practices that aims to work the body and mind in an interconnected way.

With exercises that help practitioners feel better, both psychologically and physically, yoga can be practiced by anyone, regardless of gender or age.

Known as one of the most popular practices among fitness enthusiasts, yoga offers a multitude of benefits in addition to promoting positive feelings.

It controls stress and helps reduce anxiety

In the practice of yoga, there is a full concentration on the present moment, clearing the mind and distancing it from real life and all the problems around us.

This sensation can provide emotional balance and deep inner peace.

Yoga can help address anxiety issues thanks to the breathing and muscle relaxation exercises performed, which alleviate the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as tension, stiffness, and pain.

Facilitates weight loss

As mentioned earlier, yoga helps address anxiety issues and, consequently, reduces the urge to eat, leading to a decrease in daily calorie intake.

Additionally, the exercises practiced also aid in fat loss and calorie burning, depending on the style practiced.

Improves heart and lung function

Many yoga poses regulate the nervous system and improve blood circulation, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Furthermore, this practice helps balance the endocrine system and respiratory capacity, thanks to lung-expanding exercises and breath control.

After a brief overview of what yoga is and some of the health benefits it offers, there’s one thing left to mention that makes it even more special: you can practice at home. All you need to do is learn a few exercises and familiarize yourself with the necessary equipment:

1. Cat-Cow Pose

Starting with a basic yoga pose, which aims to warm up the spine and chest before moving on to more complex poses.

To begin, get on all fours on a mat, with your knees aligned with your hips, arms straight, and hands aligned with your shoulders.

Inhale, lifting your chest and looking up at the ceiling. Shift your weight onto your abs and arch your spine.

Next, exhale and push your hands and knees toward the floor, arching your back and looking toward your navel. Repeat the sequence a few times.

2. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

As one of the most popular yoga poses, this is great for stretching and warming up the entire back of the body, as well as improving shoulder and chest flexibility.

Start by placing your feet and hands on the floor, forming a triangle with your body: your legs form one side of the triangle, your back and arms the other, and the mat the base.

Bend your knees, lift your heels, tuck your glutes, and press your hands firmly into the floor, as if you were pushing away. Hold this position for 30 seconds.

3. Airplane Pose

A great exercise for yoga beginners, as it helps improve posture and balance.

First, get into the airplane pose: start standing, extend one leg back and up, and tilt your torso so that it aligns with the leg extended behind you until your body maintains a straight, aligned structure.

Next, extend both arms, resting the arm pointing toward the floor on a cork yoga block; this way, the block will help you maintain your posture and gain balance.

4. Cobra Pose

Great for stretching, the following pose—known as the Cobra—is very simple to perform and also helps strengthen the abdominal area and back.

To begin, lie face down on the mat. Stretch your legs as far as you can, extending your arms so that your hands are aligned with your shoulders; this will cause your torso to tilt.

Make sure your toes are touching the floor. Ideally, use a cork yoga block to support your hands in this position. Hold this position for 30 seconds, breathing in and out slowly.

5. Applying a Myofascial Roller to the Inner Thigh

For this exercise, start by lying on your left side with the myofascial roller in front of you, parallel to your body.

Next, place your right leg as close as possible to a right angle on your left side and bend it to create a 90-degree angle at the knee, as shown in the image. Place the inner thigh on the foam roller and slowly rock back and forth.

Perform the exercise a total of 20 times and switch sides. Doing this exercise causes an intense sensation in the knee and hip.

6. Applying a Myofascial Roller to the Back

This exercise works not only the glutes and abdominal area but also the muscles surrounding the shoulder blades.

To perform it, start by getting into a basic plank position and place the myofascial roller under your back. Next, cross your arms over your chest, lift your glutes, and roll up and down so that the roller moves along your back, thereby providing myofascial release.

7. Backbends on the Yoga Wheel

The next exercise is very helpful for mobilizing the spine, stretching and relieving tension in the muscles of the back, neck, shoulders, abs, and hips.

To perform this exercise, you’ll need a yoga wheel.

First, sit on a mat with your knees bent and the yoga wheel positioned under your lower back.

Next, push back as if you were lying down, using the sliding wheel for support.

Once you’re lying down, stretch your arms and legs as far as you can, then bring your legs up toward your torso with your knees bent.

When your knees reach your face, extend your legs backward. Finally, simply push your body back to the starting position, keeping the yoga wheel positioned under your lower back.

8. Plank with a yoga wheel

This exercise, like the standard plank, is highly beneficial for muscle strengthening, focusing on the shoulders, arms, back, and abdominal area.

To perform it, start by getting into a plank position with your body in a straight line from head to toe, toes touching the floor, and arms extended with palms flat on the floor.

Next, place the yoga wheel under your thighs and over your knees, as shown in the image.