Although yoga is renowned for increasing your flexibility, it can be very physically demanding and can even cause injury. Therefore, it is important to prepare your body for the demands it will undergo during your yoga practice. According to an article in "Yoga Journal," over-stretching before yoga may actually make you more prone to injury. Instead of deep, held stretches prior to yoga, Staff suggests warm-up movements that will increase your blood flow and loosen your joints.
Cat and Cow
Cat and cow is a simple yoga exercise that involves coordinating your breath with the movement of your spine. According to yoga instructor Erich Schiffman in his book "Moving into Stillness," this coordination of breath and movement is one of the fundamental principles of yoga. To begin cat and cow, support your weight on your hands and knees with a straight back. Inhale and reach the crown of your head and your tailbone toward the ceiling. Exhale and reach the center of your back -- between your shoulder blades -- toward the ceiling while curling your head and tailbone under. Repeat 10 to 20 times with your breath.
Seated Twist
Twisting through your spine helps to release synovial fluid between your vertebrae, which lubricates your spinal column. To perform the seated twist, sit cross-legged or in full or half lotus with your back straight. Inhale deeply reaching your crown toward the ceiling and then exhale as you twist through your entire spine toward the left. Hold for the whole exhale, then unwind as you inhale and repeat on the right. Do 10 to 20 repetitions.
Squatting
There are many yoga poses that make use of your thigh muscles, including warrior I and II, side-angle pose, eagle pose and chair poses. To warm up the thigh muscles, begin standing tall with your belly pulled toward your spine and your feet hip-distance apart. Slowly bring your hips back and down, as though you were going to sit in an imaginary chair. When your knees are at 90 degrees or you do not feel comfortable going further, squeeze your glutes and thighs and come back to standing. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Arm Rolls
Arm rolls will warm up your upper body and are a suggested warm-up exercise in the "American Yoga Association Beginner's Manual." To perform arm rolls, stand tall with a straight back and belly pulled towards your spine. Raise your arms straight outward so your body forms a T-shape, with wrists extended so your palms also face outwards. Slowly make circles with your arms as far as you comfortably can so that your hands nearly touch in front and then you are reaching as far behind you as you can during the backward motion. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Neck Clock
The neck is a common area of the body to hold tension, even during yoga. To try to help you relax your neck before yoga, sit cross-legged, or in half or full lotus position, with a straight back. As you inhale, reach the crown of your head toward the ceiling. As you exhale, stretch your neck to "one o'clock," followed by "two o'clock," all the way up to twelve. Hold each position for a full exhale and repeat the sequence three to four times.
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