The Ultimate Guide to Preparing for a Hard Yoga Session

Yoga is an excellent way to relax and unwind, but it can also be a great way to challenge yourself and get a good workout. Before you start any type of yoga session, it's important to warm up your body and prepare it for the poses you'll be doing. Here is the ultimate guide to preparing for a hard yoga session. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent to do some pelvic tilts.

This will help to warm up your spine and hips, which are essential for many yoga poses. Then, stand on your back and cross your right ankle over the opposite knee to adopt the eye of the needle (Sucirandhrasana) posture. If your hips are tight, you can keep your left foot on the floor. For an easy posture (Sukhasana), sit in a comfortable position with your legs crossed.

Place one or two folded blankets under the seat so that your knees are lower than your hips. Do some neck twists here to warm up your neck muscles. Then, take the arm position for the eagle pose (arms crossed, bent and parallel to the floor). This will help to stretch your shoulder blades and the center of your back, which can be difficult to stretch otherwise.Keep your legs in an easy posture and turn them to the right, bringing your left hand closer to your right knee and your right hand behind your back.

Place your eyes gently on your right shoulder. This is also a good place to adopt your easy posture and lean forward. Change the position of your legs so that the opposite leg is in front.If you still have time before class begins, do a few rounds of cat and cow stretches (on all fours alternating arching and rounding the spine). You might want to approach a dog face down (Adho Mukha Svanasana), mainly to stretch your legs for the last time.

Pedal your heels up and down here to lengthen your calves and hamstrings.This simple yoga warm-up is a great way to start the practice and is a particularly good starting point before starting any type of yoga stretch. It helps to heat up the body's energy channels, which is an important aspect of yoga. From head to toe, these yoga sequences are designed to help you open up, stretch, release, strengthen and prepare you for any deeper workout or yoga practice.