When beginning to learn yoga it is essential to try a few poses on your own to ensure you can revisit them wherever you are or whenever they are needed.

One way to memorise poses is to practice a flowing series, such as The Sun Salutation Pose, also known as Surya Namaskar.

This group of poses helps to warm up the body and tone the abdominal muscles, improving strength and flexibility in the body, especially within the spinal column.

Whether you’re learning yoga for beginners or are more experienced you’ll need to practice the poses off by heart to ensure you can seamlessly move from one to the next, gaining maximum benefits from the routine.

To begin with, stand on your yoga mat in the yoga mountain pose, bringing together your palms in a prayer position and exhale. Then, as you inhale, take your arms above your head while keeping your palms touching.

Next exhale and bend forward to touch your feet with flat hands - this will get easier the more you practice, so don’t be disheartened at the beginning.

After this, inhale taking the right leg back, while you arch your spine and lift your chin up to the ceiling

When exhaling step the left leg back, bringing you into a plank position. Make sure you keep your legs and spine in a straight line, holding your weight on your hands and feet.

Retain that breath and lower your knees, chest and then your forehead, while ensuring your hips are raised and toes curled under.

Now for another inhale, stretch forward and bend back your torso, keeping arms nice and straight.

Exhale, curl the toes back under, pressing down on the heels and lifting the hips once more. While inhaling, bring your right leg forward and stretch the left foot out flat on the floor, again staring up to the sky.

Breathe out again and bend forward to touch your feet and then inhale while stretching your arms slowly, forward over your head with a slight bend backward from the waist.

After these 11 steps let out a deep breath and return to a standing position, or Tadasana.

Posted by Freya Harper