Yoga is the best mind and body experience that you can give yourself. The word yoga means union or yoke in Sanskrit. Yoga helps to unite the mind, body, and spirit and couple yoga aims to achieve a union of two people. Deep breathing, meditation and stretching of the body helps to bring peace and mindfulness to the body and mind. The benefits of practicing a couple of yoga are endless and include improved levels of communication and trust and deeper expressions of postures.
Couple yoga helps to connect with your loved ones and people in general. The practice of breathing together, and using orchestrated movement and relaxation with your partner, causes a phenomenon called entrainment. Entrainment happens when people or nature unite in a similar rhythm. When you focus on the breath, body, and movement of another person in yoga practice, your physical body will entrain with the other. It’s a beautiful practice that creates harmony within the couple.
Here are some couple of yoga poses for beginners to help you start with:
Seated meditation (Sukhasana, Siddhasana or Padmasana) – Sitting back-to-back lets partners offer each other support, so their core postural muscles can relax. This enables calmer bodies that can go more smoothly into meditation. Synchronized breathing can lead to a deep kinesthetic communication. Partners can try a double breath, inhaling and exhaling together, or practice a yin-yang breath by inhaling as their partners exhale.
Seated Twist (Parivritta Sukhasana) – Sit cross-legged back-to-back and lengthen your spine upward. Turn both your shoulders to the right and reach your right hand to your partner’s left knee. Straighten your back as you inhale, and exhale into a deeper twist, perhaps pulling on your partner’s knee for leverage. Allow yourself to relax, be aware of yourself and your partner, and adjust the depth of the pose to suit your flexibility. After several slow and deep breaths, slowly return to the center and repeat, this time twisting to the left.
Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) – Sit back-to-back with your partner. Keep your soles together. Now slowing inhale and lengthen your back. Now, when one partner exhale and folds forward from the hips, to keep the back straight. In the same time, the other partner relieves the head and shoulders onto their partner’s back. Hold for 5-10 breaths and inhale. Repeat the other side when the other partner folds forward.
Double Downward Dog (temple pose) – Stand straight facing your partner. Inhale and then extend your arms overhead. Now extend your arms forward toward your partner and hold hands. Gradually fold forward and rest your elbow, forearms against each other. Balance your weight equally and release your chest belly toward the floor. Hold this position for 6-10 seconds then slowly move toward each other.
These couple yoga for beginners helps to rejuvenate your body and mind along with your partners. It is a fabulous medium for building stronger communication and intimacy in just about any kind of relationship, whether it is friendship, a family member, or your significant other. Postures and flow sequences are designed in an awesome way to create and nurture trust, strengthen communication and create a sense of laughter and light-heartedness!
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