Yoga Asanas For Couples:
Doing yoga together (whether you are a partner, a friend, or physical activity partner) stimulates our body. Furthermore, allows us to engage in another style of yoga with alternative advantages. It allows yogi’s to experience a different perspective, one that may help emphasize respect, relationship, and trust of another human being. This is the art of practicing yoga asanas for couples!
Doing yoga together may help gain a greater confidence in ourselves and in one another. Furthermore, greater awareness of our limits in relation to another person, and of the other in relation to us. This is all done with a total suspension of judgment towards one another. Thus facilitating, a more open relationship and stronger bond towards your counterpart.
According to the National Center of Complementary Therapies, research suggests that yoga for individuals can help improve your mental and emotional health.
Why not explore this further with the accompaniment of a partner. If doing couples yoga in the presence of an intimate partner, it can help influence better trust, communication, and potentially deeper feelings.
Practiced with a friend, maybe you strengthen the bond and create an even more trusting and sustainable relationship!
Either case has it’s advantages. Practicing yoga in two, means trusting and relying on the other. Furthermore, making sure that the other trusts and relies on us. Practicing yoga in two works on not just the physical level, but maybe above all, the psychological one.
Doing Yoga Together, Synchronizing the Body and the Breath:
Clear your mind from prejudices and fears, before beginning any session of couples yoga. It is essential to let yourself go completely, making sure that not only the movements of the body, but also the breath, are synchronized.
The synchronization of the breath, may be this most difficult aspect of the discipline for 2 individuals performing couple’s yoga. It takes concentration, and the ability to focus, maybe more then you’ve done in any yoga class before.
Allow your mind to become completely clear. Empty the mind if you will. Consequently, with only 2 goals; synchronization of breathe & supportive movements as one.
Yoga Asanas for Couples:
Couples yoga can be rejuvenating. It can be a tool to rekindle or further strengthen bonds between two people.
As such, it’s helpful to understand the concept of couples yoga prior to engaging in the activity itself. Below you’ll begin to learn a few poses that can be done together. These are not hard, per say. However, they will be a healthy tune-up for furthering your couples yoga practice.
Relax. Focus. Enjoy each others company!
Navasana:
The image above depicts a position for stretching the hamstrings. Notably, having tight hamstrings can be a precursor to several ailments. For example, lower back pain, bad posture, and other other imbalances of muscles.
This two-person yoga position is both invigorating for the abs and quadriceps, which stabilize the body in a state of balance, assisted by your partner. Furthermore, can be a purposeful warm-up pose for more advanced couples yoga poses.
Steps:
- Firstly, take a position on the ground, at such a distance that by extending your arms you can grasp each other’s wrists. The legs of both are bent, the knees together and the toes of the partners touch.
- Then, stretch one leg at a time upwards until the soles of the feet are in contact, do the same thing with the other leg.
- Pull your shoulders back by opening your chest and stretch upwards to extend the spine. If the legs do not reach to extend, keep them bent, you will see that by practicing this position consistently, they will improve!
> Focus: keep the chest open and the spine stretched.
Twisting in pairs:
Twisting in pairs is fundamental in it’s execution. It represents a twisting-type asana, through gentle controlled movements
Steps:
- Firstly, position yourself back to back with your legs crossed, buttocks and shoulders touching.
- Begin to synchronize your breath.
- Leave the pelvis firmly rooted to the ground and exhale.
- Rotate the torso to the left, place the back of your left hand on your right knee.
- Keeping your hips and shoulders in contact, hook your right hand to your partner’s knee.
- Maintain the position for 3-4 minutes.
> Focus: keep the spine stretched and shoulders relaxed, breathe deeply in the position and do not force further twisting beyond comfort.
Utthitta Chaturangadandasana for two
A complex pose, great for the arms and abs. This is not for the faint of heart. Although simple to explain, not easy for 2 people to execute, simultaneously.
Steps:
- The person below is positioned in quadrupedal position, with hands under the shoulders and knees under the hips.
- Fingers wide, extend one leg so that the partner positions himself at the level of his ankles.
- The partner then grabs the ankles one at a time, keeping his back straight, and arms relaxed.
- The person standing leaves one leg at a time.
> Focus: The person below must keep the abdomen active, so as not to arch the back. Activate the leg adductor muscles by pushing towards the partner’s pelvis to stabilize. The standing person should stand with the back straight and knees slightly bent to support the weight of the partner effortlessly from the back.
Final Thoughts!
Well there you have it. Couples yoga. As you both improve the physiological and psychological connection, advance your poses. Advancements will come with their own challenges. However, if you work together, you can achieve amazing things with couples yoga.
Be sure to share your experiences with doing yoga together on the blog!
References:
- https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know
- https://www.starkwoodchiropractic.com/how-tight-hamstrings-cause-back-pain/
