Practicing these yoga poses with someone you love can calm and balance your body and mind. By Team Viva
The beauty of yoga is that it can be done by absolutely anyone and it can be moulded to your body, mind and soul. Practicing yoga with a significant other or someone you love can add a sense of calm and balance to your body and mind. There are certain poses that become better when practiced as a couple. Jahnavi Patwardhan, master trainer, SARVA and Diva Yoga suggests five poses that can be practiced as a couple.
The lotus
This grounding and meditative posture can be done by everyone. Padmasana or lotus pose is a slightly advanced posture but sukhasana or a simple cross legged pose can work as well. When practicing as a couple, sit with the backs touching. From the sacrum to the shoulder blades, there is complete contact. This is an extremely calming posture and practicing it as a couple makes sure that the back is aligned and brings awareness of the body, especially the back.
The twist
Taking it from the first posture, you simply twist and grab your partners knee to get deeper into the twist. This can be more effective than a regular seated twist, again because of the awareness and alignment but also because your back is aligned, the twist is deeper and amazing.
The boat
Another fun pose is the boat or navasana. Since its a balancing pose, doing it with someone brings in a counterbalance to stabilise it. You simply start by holding hands and the soles of the feet touching. And slowly straighten the legs into a boat. This pose helps bring balance to the body and mind, strengthens the core and even opens up the hamstrings when done as a couple.
The tree
This is one of the best standing balance poses there is. It helps you feel rooted, steady and strong and again, when done with a partner, it works as a counter balance. Standing next to each other, ground down with one foot and place the other foot on the inner thigh (mirror each other). Hold each other around the waist and the other palm can join in namaste.
The squat
The final one is the chair squat. This is a challenging one, you need to find the right equilibrium so as not to imbalance each other. You simply stand with your backs together (backs are touching throughout) and just walk the feet ahead as you squat. Go down as low as you can with the backs still touching. This is a strengthening pose for the quadriceps, hip flexors and glutes.
Practicing yoga as a couple has numerous benefits like cultivating awareness, mindfulness, gratitude, balance and compassion, and of course, its a lot of fun too.
Monday, 08 February 2021 | Team Viva
