Day 6 | Get Started | Beginner Yoga Challenge

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Welcome to Day 6 of the Get Started beginner yoga challenge! 

This yoga challenge is for you if you’ve wanted to get started, but feel intimidated, unsure exactly where to start. 

Or would like to know what the hell is going on when you go to your first group yoga lesson? 

This yoga challenge is super easy! This ‘Get Started’ yoga challenge is for you, no matter how inflexible you think you may be.

I won’t be sneaking you to get you into the splits (not yet, joking) I promise! 

You don’t have the time to start yoga. I know it’s super easy to get off track, you’re busy, I get it! 

So I’ve created a cheat sheet, that you can download straight onto your phone or computer and check each day off.

So if you forget, you have this cheat sheet to refer back to. Sign up below: 

Day 6

‘Get Started’ Beginner Yoga Challenge

Day 6’s pose is Ardha Uttanasana, or simply called Halfway Fold. 

This seems like a basic yoga pose, however, this is the basic yoga pose which I see students really struggle with. 

Halfway fold is used a lot in between sun salutations, you don’t stay for a long time in this pose, it doesn’t allow the time, improve your alignment.

In class I use my wording to correct the pose for a student, as I understand that it takes a while for your body to move differently to what you’re used to. 

One of the greatest things about yoga is that it opens your shoulders. 

What do I mean by opening the shoulders?

A lot of poses, focus on having a “straight” spine, your spine is not straight, it has a natural curve to it. 

However, the aim is more to have a long spine, adding length to it, which we miss out on with our sedentary lifestyles, sitting for a long period of time at a desk. 

If you work in construction or hospitality, in a more active job, you spend a lot of your time rolling your shoulders inwards, looking down and reaching down.

Halfway Fold requires you to open your chest, pressing it down towards the floor and pressing your shoulders backwards.

As you’ll hear in a yoga class, this forms a heart opener. It helps to relieve tension in your upper back. 

I mention this in the video above, that the mistake people make is that they round their back when Halfway Fold is an opportunity to open the chest and feel the length of your spine, from your lower back to the shoulders. 

Of course, if it feels more comfortable to round your back, you should start to do this pose, the best that you can. 

I’ve seen some of my students, eventually get this form, as through repetition the body, slowly opens up. 

Again last in the last blog post, for Day 5’s pose, patience will be a key part of your yoga practice, not only at the start but throughout your yoga practice. 

This is something I’m learning on and off the mat, that good things, take time to be created. 

A good analogy I learnt from my husband, who’s a builder, or a man of all trades, is that concrete which dries too quickly in the heat, simply become bad concrete in the long term. Good concrete dries slowly, this causes a chemical reaction and creates good strong concrete.

Here’s a list of the benefits of Halfway Fold:

• Ardha Uttanasana helps to extend the spine. 
• This pose helps to develop flexibility in the hips and hamstrings
• Forward fold helps to strengthen the back and the legs. 
• This helps to improve your sense of balance.

So now you know the benefits and you’ve learnt a little more about this pose. Give the video above a try and if you enjoyed it, let me know!

Don’t forget to #getstartedyogachallenge if you post this on instagram, so I can see your progress.

Any comments, or questions, let me know in the comments below!

If you scrolled all the way to the bottom, hi you naughty scroller! If you’d like to partake in this challenge, download the cheat sheet below and here’s a list of all the Yoga Challenge Days for you to partake.