Yoga Poses to Get Rid of Stiff Muscles: How to Increase Flexibility With Easy Yoga Asanas

Yoga Poses to Get Rid of Stiff Muscles: Yoga asanas are physical postures that are scientifically designed for your fitness, strength, flexibility, stamina, and health. Check out a few here that will help ease your body.

Yoga Poses to Get Rid of Stiff Muscles: Yoga is the ideal exercise as it is a holistic practice beneficial for all aspects of our being. Yoga has a powerful and positive impact on the mind, body, and spirit. Yoga asanas are physical postures that are scientifically designed for your fitness, strength, flexibility, stamina, and health. Pranayama breathing exercises clean the Nadis or channels within the body to improve lung capacity and increase the ability to take in more oxygen.

Yoga contains meditation practices and mudras that help you rewire the brain, change behavioral patterns, and train yourself for transformation. Boost your physical health by practicing yoga, and increase your immunity. Practice the following postures to deepen your yoga practice and offset any lethargy or muscle stiffness that you may experience.

1. Cat Pose- Urdvha Mukhi /Adhomukhi Marjariasana: Kneel down and place your palms and knees under your shoulders to perform this pose. Inhale and arch your spine. Exhale and rotate your shoulders to face your navel. You can warm up your spine in this position.
2. Downward Dog – Adhomukhi Svanasana: Begin in Child’s Pose with your pelvis on your heels and your forehead on the floor. Press your feet to the floor to straighten your knees and pelvis up forming a triangular shape with the body. Let the distance between the palms and your feet be comfortable.
3. Upward Facing Dog -Urdvha Mukhi Svanasana: Gently lower your pelvis and stomach without touching the floor from the bar and assume a position on the bar. Raise your head, shoulders, and chest skyward. In this position, engage your back muscles by squeezing your hips without bending your elbows.

How to do Padahasthasana: Step-by-step guide

• Begin in Samasthithi
• Exhale and bend your upper body down
• Stretch from the hips and bring your nose close to your knees
• See if you can place palms on either side of the feet

Hasta Uttanasana – Raised-arms Pose

Stretch your arms above your head while standing. Take a breath in and gently arch your head, neck, and upper back. Bend back with your upper body, and keep your arms close to your ears.

How to do Matsyasana: Step-by-step guide

• Lie on your back on the yoga mat, breathe in, and then elevate your head and shoulders with your hands or firmly press your elbows and forearms into the floor or ground.
• Next, raise your upper body, and when you inhale, push your shoulder blade to your back (upper torso). Keep your head held high off the ground or floor.
• Try to place the crown section of your head on the ground.
• You can also spread your legs out or flex your knees for more comfort.

Sukshma Vyayam, or subtle exercises, are a good place to start your practice. In yoga, the body warms up from the toes all the way to the top. You can begin by warming up your ankle joints with ankle rotations before going on to your knees, hips, arms, neck, and head. The benefits of warming up include increased productivity on the mat and a reduced risk of injury.

— Inputs by Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar, Founder: Akshar Yoga Institutions, Himalaya Yoga Ashrama, World Yoga Organisation