Top Ten Yoga Poses for Brides-to-Be

(Plus a Bonus Meditation Exercise)

By Lisa Helfer, M.A., R.Y.T., Founder of Yoga for Weddings

Images courtesy of  Elsie Escobar, Elsie's Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast

Wedding planning reality has tiptoed in...you've started combing through planning guides, bridal magazines, websites, vendors, and getting advice from friends and family. Ironing out all of the details before your wedding day can feel totally overwhelming. How will you find time to get in shape? Manage your own expectations and those of your fiancé, families, and friends? How will you be able to organize and plan everything? Whether large or small, traditional or non-traditional, destination or hometown, extravagant or shoestring, the planning of a wedding requires you to tap into inner reserves of patience and strength. Yoga, a 5,000-year-old physical and spiritual discipline was designed to help practitioners self-navigate into excellent physical and emotional health, and a state of inner calm and relaxation. Sound like something you need throughout the course of your wedding planning? Or on your big day?

SAFETY CAVEAT 

The information in this article is intended to be helpful information about yoga.  The physical yoga poses, breathing exercises, and meditations are not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a physician before begin practicing these yoga poses. Also, if you have a specific condition, illness, glaucoma, high blood pressure, have had a recent surgery or are pregnant, be sure to talk to a qualified medical practitioner or physician before you start practicing. The author of this article is not responsible for any injuries or condition sustained as a result of the practice in this article.

Important Tips before You Begin

Try not to eat or drink for at least one hour before and after your practice. Don't drink too much water, instead, periodically sip water during your practice to prevent dehydration. You may experience a level of discomfort in your muscles when you begin your yoga practice, this is natural.  Be very careful not to strain, however,  use your breath to help you relax deeply into any uneasiness. Please do stop immediately if you feel any sharp pains and consult with a physician as soon as possible.

Yoga Practice:

•  Try to practice all ten poses two to three times a week. Go slowly at first, you can pick and choose which poses feel right for your body.
• Find a cool, clean place without drafts to practice. It's important to keep the body warm throughout your yoga session.  You'll need a flat even surface to practice on. A hardwood floor is ideal, but not necessary.
• Invest in an eco-friendly yoga mat to protect your wrists and knees. You may want to have a folded blanket nearby in case you feel any pain in your wrists or knees.
• Throughout your day, try to incorporate some live foods, green drinks and coconut water which combat stress, can assist in weight loss, and are high in vital nutrients and potassium.

Warm Up Poses

• Child's Pose - back and spine
• Downward Facing Dog Pose - shoulders, hips, and hamstrings
• Forward Bend - back, legs, and spine

Strengthening and Weight Loss Poses

• Chair Pose - arms, legs, and booty
• Plank Pose - arms, back, and shoulders
• Boat Pose - abs
• Bridge Pose - legs and booty

Relaxation Poses

• Hero's Pose
• Seated Forward Bend Pose
• Final Relaxation Pose

Warm Up Yoga Poses 

1. Child's Pose - Balasana

Brides-to-be generally are on the go! Just tried on 50 pairs of shoes? Shopped until you dropped? This gentle warm-up stretch is great for the hips, thighs and ankles, and can help relieve back pain. It also calms the brain and helps relieve stress and fatigue.

Benefits:

•        Relieves back and neck pain when done with head and torso supported

Contraindications and Cautions: 

•   Do not practice child's pose if you have diarrhea, a knee injury, or are pregnant.

Step by Step

1. Come to kneel on the floor and then touch your big toes together, sit on your heels and separate your knees about as wide as your hips.
2. Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs.
3. Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso with your palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor.
4. Remain in Child's Pose for 1-3 minutes.
5. To come out of the pose, gently round your spine and sit up vertebrae- by-vertebrae. Head comes up last.

 

2. Downward-Facing Dog Pose - Adho Mukha Svanasana

Need some time to get away from all the wedding planning stress and just hang out for awhile? Ease into one of the most well-known poses in yoga, downward-facing dog. This pose warms up the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands. It improves digestion, relieves headaches, insomnia, and back pain.  It is also therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica, sinusitis, and fatigue. All those benefits in one simple pose!

Benefits:

• Reduces fatigue
• Strengthens your arms and legs
• Improves digestion and relieves upset, stressed-out tummies
• Lowers high blood pressure

Contraindications and Cautions: 

If you are experiencing, carpal tunnel syndrome, diarrhea, or are within the late term of your pregnancy - do not do this pose. If you have high blood pressure or headache: support your head lightly with a bolster or block, while you keep your ears level between your arms. 

Step by Step

1. Come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms, index fingers parallel or slightly turned out, and turn your toes under.

2. Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the groins.

3. Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. Straighten your knees but be sure not to lock them. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly. Narrow the front of the pelvis to broaden the lower back.

4. Firm the outer arms and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. From these two points lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the head between the upper arms.

5. Stay in this pose anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. Then bend your knees to the floor with an exhalation and rest in Child's Pose.

 

3. Standing Forward Bend Pose - Uttanasana

There are times when releasing tension can be energizing and Standing Forward Bend provides exactly that, as it is an intense stretch for your legs and spine. This pose is an excellent warm up pose-it calms and rejuvenates your nervous system, and soothes your brain.

Benefits:

•        Strengthens the thighs and knees
•        Improves digestion
•        Reduces fatigue and anxiety
•        Improves eyesight and hearing
•        Provides nourishment to the facial skin, scalp, and hair roots.
•        Stretches the hamstrings, calves, and hips.

Contraindications and Cautions:
If you have back pain when you do the pose, bend your knees slightly and listen to your body as to not push it. Also be very careful in this pose if you have high blood pressure, frequent headaches, low back problems, or disk problems.

 

 

Strengthening and Weight Loss Poses

4. Chair Pose - Utkatasana

Among many things, getting married means that you have taken on a different role in your life and this role will continue to take on new meanings and responsibilities and his requires a strong inner foundation in yourself. Chair Pose teaches you how to find your seat of power in yourself, within your pelvis, and at the center of your body. Really

a deep squat, this pose immediately engages the strength of your thighs, calves, ankles, back, and spine. It also stretches the shoulders and chest. Dancing until the wee hours on your wedding night will be a snap after you practice chair pose.

Benefits:

•          Stimulates the abdominal organs, diaphragm, and heart
•          Reduces flat feet

Contraindications and Cautions: 

Don't practice this pose if you have frequent headaches, insomnia, or low blood pressure.

Step by Step

1.     Stand in Mountain Pose. Inhale and raise your arms perpendicular to the floor. Either keep the arms parallel, palms facing inward, or join the palms.

2.     Exhale and bend your knees, trying to take the thighs as nearly parallel to the floor as possible. The knees will project out over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward over the thighs until the front torso forms approximately a right angle with the tops of the thighs.

3.     Keep the inner thighs parallel to each other and press the heads of the thigh bones down toward the heels.

4.     Firm your shoulder blades against the back. Take your tailbone down toward the floor and in toward your pubis to keep the lower back long.

5.     Stay for 30 seconds to a minute. To come out of this pose straighten your knees with an inhalation, lifting strongly through the arms. Exhale and release your arms to your sides into Mountain Pose. 

 

5. Plank Pose - Kumbhakasana 

Okay, you've decided to walk the plank and take the plunge...why not pay homage by practicing the namesake pose for this exciting experience! Plank pose builds upper and core body strength, lengthens your spine and strengthens the low back muscles. Your arms will look super toned in your wedding dress after practicing plank pose during the months leading up to your big day.

Benefits

• Proper spinal alignment
• Tones the abdomen and arms
• Strengthens the arms, wrists, and spine
• Allows for deep breathing

Contraindications and Cautions 

Don't practice this pose if you have had recent or chronic injury to the arms, back or shoulder, or carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Step by Step

1.     Start in downward facing dog (shown above). Then inhale and draw your torso forward until the arms are perpendicular to the floor and the shoulders directly over the wrists, torso parallel to the floor.

2.     Press your outer arms inward and firm the bases of your index fingers into the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then spread them away from the spine. Also spread your collarbones away from the sternum.

3.     Press your front thighs up toward the ceiling, but resist your tailbone toward the floor as you lengthen it toward the heels. Lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and look straight down at the floor, keeping the throat and eyes soft.

4.     Stay in the pose anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

6. Boat Pose - Paripurna Navasana

Your cake tasting is coming up, so get a head start on making sure your abs are tight and toned. If regular sit-ups are a challenge for you, boat pose may just be the answer, as this pose develops core abdominal strength it also promotes good posture, and prevents back pain.  Yoga teachers commonly refer to holding a few rounds of Boat Pose as equivalent to doing a thousand sit-ups.

Benefits:

•        Strengthens the legs, hip flexor, and core body while opening the chest and stretching the low back
•        Tones the kidneys and stimulates the reproductive and digestive systems

Contraindications and Cautions 

Be cautious about doing this pose if you have diarrhea, headache, asthma, heart problems, insomnia, neck injury, low blood pressure, or are menstruating or pregnant.

Step by Step

1. From a seated position, bring the legs straight up to a 45 degree angle.

2. The torso will naturally fall back, but do not let the spine collapse. Make a "V" shape with the body.

3. Bring the arms out straight in line with the shoulders.

4. Balance on the sit bones.

5. Extend the legs out straight or bend the knees if necessary, bringing the calves parallel the floor. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths. Place soles of the feet on the floor. Rest for one breath. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

(This image demonstrates the V shape of the body only)

7. Bridge Pose - Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

Bridge pose tones the booty, abs, hips and front of thighs. It also energizes and stimulates the nervous system and endocrine system. The pose is a wonderful way to ease tension in the shoulders and relieve tension in the lower back.

Benefits:

• Strengthens neck and back
• Builds wrist flexibility
• Nourishes your pituitary, thyroid and adrenal glands

Contraindications and Cautions: 

Neck injury: avoid this pose unless you are practicing under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

Step by Step

1.     Come to lie on the back.

2.     Bend the knees, bringing the soles of the feet parallel on the mat close to the buttocks.

3.     Lift the hips up towards the ceiling.

4.     Interlace the fingers behind your back and straighten the arms, pressing them down into the mat.

5.     Roll one shoulder under and then the other. Lift the hips higher.

6.     Draw the chest toward the chin, but do not move the chin toward the chest. Make sure the feet stay parallel.

7.     Release the hands and bring the upper, middle, and then lower back down.

8.    Rest, allowing the knees to knock together 

Relaxation Poses

8. Hero's Pose Arm and Shoulder Stretch - Virasana Variation

Can't decide about your wedding colors? Is your favorite DJ or musician already booked on the date you have set? Are the bridesmaids gripping about their dresses? The purpose of this pose is to help give the entire body a very complete stretch from the heels to the head. It is calming and relaxing to the entire system.

Benefits

•        Improves circulation
•        Eases and stimulates the joints, especially the knees, ankles, and shoulders

Contraindications and Cautions: 

Don't do this pose if you have knee or ankle injuries, heart problems, or frequent headaches. 

Step by Step

1. Kneel on the floor (on a folded blanket to pad your knees, shins, and feet if necessary), with your thighs perpendicular to the floor, and touch your inner knees together. Slide your feet apart, slightly wider than your hips, with the tops of the feet flat on the floor. Angle your big toes slightly in toward each other and press the top of each foot evenly on the floor. Exhale and sit back halfway, with your torso leaning slightly forward. Wedge your thumbs into the backs of your knees and draw the skin and flesh of the calf muscles toward the heels. Then sit down between your feet.

2. If your buttocks don't comfortably rest on the floor, raise them on a block or thick book placed between the feet. Make sure both sitting bones are evenly supported. Allow a thumb's-width space between the inner heels and the outer hips. Turn your thighs inward and press the heads of the thigh bones into the floor with the bases of your palms.

3. Firm your shoulder blades against the back ribs and lift the top of your sternum like a proud warrior. Widen the collarbones and release the shoulder blades away from the ears. Lengthen the tailbone into the floor to anchor the back torso.

4. Inhale as you slowly raise your arms to shoulder height, shoulders down. Exhale, lengthen out through the fingertips & turn your palms to the ceiling. Inhale, stretch your arms overhead and interlock the fingers. Slowly exhale, turn the palms towards the ceiling, and with a powerful push lift up from the belly into your chest and shoulders. Inhale hands back to the side. Repeat 2-3 more times.

5. To come out of the pose, press your hands against the floor and lift your buttocks up, slightly higher than the heels. Cross your ankles underneath your buttocks, sit back over the feet and onto the floor, then stretch your legs out slowly in front of you.

 

9. Seated Forward Bend Pose - Paschimottanasana

Seated Forward Bend is highly recommended for women as it benefits the ovaries and uterus and also helps to ease menstrual discomfort. Overall, it is an excellent posture for abdominal area. It also stretches the back and spine, shoulders and hamstrings.

Benefits:

•        This asana strengthens the abdominal muscles and helps to cure constipation.  
•        Alleviates sciatica and is beneficial for kidneys, liver, and diabetes. 

Contraindications and Cautions 

Do not do this pose if you have asthma, have diarrhea or ulcers. If you have a back injury, only perform this pose under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

Step by Step

1.     Sit on the floor with your buttocks supported on a folded blanket and your legs straight in front of you. Press actively through your heels. Rock slightly onto your left buttock, and pull your right sitting bone away from the heel with your right hand. Repeat on the other side. Turn the top thighs in slightly and press them down into the floor. Press through your palms or finger tips on the floor beside your hips and lift the top of the sternum toward the ceiling as the top thighs descend.

2.     Draw the inner groins deep into the pelvis. Inhale, and keeping the front torso long, lean forward from the hip joints, not the waist. Lengthen the tailbone away from the back of your pelvis. If possible take the sides of the feet with your hands, thumbs on the soles, elbows fully extended, hold onto your lower calves. Be sure your elbows are straight, not bent.

3.     When you are ready to go further, don't forcefully pull yourself into the forward bend. Always lengthen the front torso into the pose, keeping your head raised. If you are holding the feet, bend the elbows out to the sides and lift them away from the floor,  walk the hands forward, keeping the arms long. The lower belly should touch the thighs first, then the upper belly, then the ribs, and the head last.

4.     With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the torso oscillates and lengthens almost imperceptibly with the breath. Eventually you may be able to stretch the arms out beyond the feet on the floor.

5.     Stay in the pose anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. To come up, first lift the torso away from the thighs and straighten the elbows again if they are bent. Then inhale and lift the torso up by pulling the tailbone down and into the pelvis. 

(When doing this pose both legs should be in front of you)

10. Final Relaxation Pose - Savasana

The Corpse Pose allows for total relaxation, something you are probably craving as a bride-to-be. This pose looks easy, but is said to be the hardest of all yoga poses to really master, as it can be difficult not to fall asleep during it! Let your body and mind relax, but try not to fall into a deep sleep during corpse pose. You'll feel like you just had a vacation!

Benefits:  

1. Stimulates blood circulation and exercises inner organs.
2. Alleviates fatigue, nervousness, asthma, constipation, diabetes, indigestion, insomnia, and lumbago.
3. Teaches mental concentration

Contraindications and Cautions:

1.   If you have a back injury or discomfort, do this pose with your knees bent and your feet on the floor, hip-distance apart; support the bent knees on a bolster and/or put a pillow under head and/or back.

2.   If you are pregnant, raise your head and chest on a bolster.

 

Step by Step:

1.    Lay down on your back. Reach your arms toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the floor. Roll your shoulder blades down your back one at a time. Rotate your arms outward slightly and let your arms rest on the floor, diagonally about six inches from your body. Your palms face up.

2.    Slowly scan your body for tension, breathe normally and evenly. Release any tight or tense muscles.

3.    Stay in this pose for 5 - 15 minutes at the end of every yoga practice. To come out of the pose, roll gently over to your right side.  Exhale and then press your hands against the floor and lift your torso, dragging your head slowly after. Your head should always come up last.

(To duplicate the above, use two cork yoga blocks)

Bonus Meditation Exercise: Handful of Flowers Meditation - Pushpaputa Mudra

Handful of Flowers Meditation is a wonderful practice to find a place of openness and acceptance about your life, engagement, wedding, and marriage. Pushpa means flowers. This is a wonderful meditation to practice during any stage of your wedding planning and life.

Step by Step:

1. Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position.

2. Place both hands open and upwards against your thighs, relaxed and with the thumbs placed against the outer edge of the index finger.

3. Inhale and exhale slowly through your nose with your mouth closed and visualize that you are holding a large flower in your hands or place a real flower in them.

4. Take 16 full deep breaths and then bless your flower with a wish or infuse it with hope, patience, and guidance as you embark on this new journey with your fiancé, families, and friends.

5. Very slowly, raise your hands up through the center of your chest and then over your head, releasing your wish-infused flower into the universe.

 

 Lisa Helfer's Bio:

Lisa Helfer, M.A., R.Y.T., founded Yoga for Weddings in 2006.  She began practicing yoga at the age of twelve and was certified as a Yoga Alliance instructor in 2002 after completing Synergy Yoga Center's training program in Miami, Florida. In 2003, she completed a 75-hour Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga training program at Shiva Shala in New York City with Manju Jois. Lisa has continued to study yoga with some of the top teachers in the United States. Her vigorous and creative flowing vinyasa classes are catered to individual needs and levels. Each class contains the following components: breath/pranayama, meditation, asana, and mudra. She is available to teach privately, in a large class setting, and for live demonstrations or workshops.

Lisa has a B.A. in Media Studies/Journalism/Eastern European History from Western Washington University and an M.A. in Creative Writing from The City College of New York. She also has over 15 year's experience in public relations/marketing, media consultancy, journalism, and screenwriting. She recently traveled to Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. as a journalist for the World Future Energy Summit.

Elsie Escobar's Bio:

Elsie Escobar, a native of El Salvador, began her love affair with yoga in 1997.  She completed her formal training at the Center for Yoga in Larchmont (now Yogaworks) and the Integrative Yoga Therapy Program created by Joseph Le Page, focusing on the therapeutic aspects of yoga.  In 2000 she found the wild joy in her heart through Anusara Yoga developed by John Friend, 'a uniquely integrated style of hatha yoga in which the artistic glory of the human heart blends magically with the scientific principles of biomechanics.'  She continues to study fervently with John Friend and many amazing certified Anusara teachers; Naime Jezzeny, Sue Elkind, Noah Maze, Desiree Rumbaugh and many others. Her classes are full of playfulness, smiles (and/or laughter) and strong commitment deeply grounded in self-honoring, acceptance and building community.

Elsie, has now undertaken a new path.  The love affair of yoga has now been met by an equal passion for podcasting.  She has been podcasting since July 2006 and hopes to continue doing it, in as many ways as possible.  She has a successful and inspiring podcast simply named "Elsie's Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged," which is just that, her live yoga classes sent out to those who subscribe and available to those who happen to stumble upon them on her website: www.elsiesyogakula.com.  Plus, it's FREE!