Yoga Workout on the Floor

Yoga is a mind-body practice that helps you relax, strengthens your muscles and increases flexibility. Although a traditional yoga routine typically includes standing poses, you can do your entire yoga workout on the floor. A 60-minute yoga routine typically starts with breathing techniques, followed by 15 to 20 yoga poses called asanas. To perform a complete yoga workout, choose several forward bending, twisting, balancing, back bending and inverted poses and then perform those asanas in that order to follow the teachings of hatha yoga.

Breathing Exercises

Sit down in your favorite cross-legged meditative position for yoga breathing exercises. A great way to start your practice, these exercises calm your mind and energize your body. Breathing exercises help to counteract shallow breathing, which reduces the oxygen supply to your body and can cause sluggishness. Alternate nostril breathing -- where you inhale through one nostril, retain your breath and exhale through the other nostril -- is one basic breath exercise. Practice deep yoga breathing by placing your hand on your belly to feel it rise and fall as you breathe slowly, evenly and deeply.

Forward Bends

Forward bends loosen you back muscles and stimulate digestion. Bend from the hips and not the waist to do forward bends properly. Try a seated, one-legged forward bend -- called janusirshasana -- where you bend your knee to place one heel as close to your perineum as possible. Extend both legs and reach for your toes with paschimottanasana. Do the bound angle pose -- called baddha konasana -- by placing your legs in a butterfly stretch, holding your toes and bending forward to place your head on the floor. Hold forward bends for at least three deep breaths or up to two minutes.

Twists

Twisting poses increase your spine's flexibility and stimulate your internal organs, including your liver and kidneys. While seated, you can do a simple twist by getting into your favorite cross-legged pose, placing your hand on the opposite knee and looking over the same shoulder. Other twisting poses for the floor include bharadvajasana and ardah matsyendrasana.

Backbends

Backbends expand the chest, stretch your abdominal muscles and strengthen the muscles surrounding the spine. Lie face down on your mat for the sphinx pose and rest on your forearms or arch your back by extending your elbows as much as you can comfortably for the cobra pose -- also called bhujangasana. Lie on your back to do the fish pose called matsyasana.

Inversions

Inverted poses stimulate your pituitary gland and encourage blood flow to your brain. Inversions to do on the floor include the dolphin pose, which is similar to downward dog but your forearms bear the weight and rest on the floor. Lie on your back to do a shoulder stand -- also called sarvangasana -- and move directly into the plow pose -- also called halasana. A headstand represents an advanced inversion asana for experienced practitioners.