Beginner-friendly yoga poses to do whilst at home

1. Seated twist

Find a comfortable seated position on the floor or yoga brick/cushion. Take an inhale to reach the arms up and overhead, than exhale to twist to the side, using your arms to facilitate the movement. Hold for a breath, and inhale to come back to centre, and exhale to swap sides.

2. Low lunge to half splits

Come into a low lunge position, with the right foot in front, right knee directly over the ankle. Bring the hands to the floor either side of the right heel, or on yoga blocks/books if you can’t reach the floor. Inhale, then as you exhale move the hips back and begin to straighten the right leg as you do so. Inhale to come back to the lunge, then repeat for a few rounds before swapping sides. You can also hold both of these poses for a deeper stretch.

3. Plank to yoga push up

Come into a plank with the shoulders to be directly over the wrists, fingers spread wide and pressing strongly into floor so that the shoulders round slightly. Try to find a balance between making sure your hips aren’t sagging down, and that your bottom isn’t sticking up. Draw the belly button in to help engage your core. Hold for a few breaths, then lightly drop the knees to the ground. Squeezing the elbows towards the ribs, move forwards then then down as you lower to the ground. If you feel like you can’t control the movement down, you can put yoga blocks directly beneath your shoulders to catch you as you lower.

4. Warrior two

Any poses utilise your legs are a great anti-dote to sitting. From standing, step your left foot far back and turn the left foot and your hips out to the side. As your right leg bends, check that you can see your big toe; this is a good way to check if your knee is directly above the ankle, and that it isn’t rolling inwards. Try to press the outer edges of both feet into the d to look after your knees and engage muscles up your legs. Open your arms out to a T position, keeping the shoulders soft. Hold for five slow breaths, then swap sides.

5. Tree pose

From standing, shift the weight into your right leg. Come onto left tiptoes, and externally rotate the leg so the toes and knee turns out. Either: keep the toes on the ground and rest the left heel against right ankle, lift the sole of the left foot to rest against the right inner calf or bring up to the inner thigh, avoiding the side of the knee. Once you feel balanced, bring the hands together in a prayer shape by the chest, or overhead. To stay balanced, find something still ahead of you to focus on. Keep pressing the right foot strongly into the ground, and avoid the side of the hip “popping” out to build more strength in the gluteal muscles. Single leg balances are great for building strength and stabilisation, as well as being a fun challenge!