Table of Contents
Yoga Asanas. What is Asana Yoga? When people initially start a journey with Yoga, they see it as a solo practice of healing, health, self-improvement and a search for an enlightened state of being. However, many of us share our lives with one or more significant others, be it a traditional marriage situation or a more modern relationship or lifestyle.
If you find yourself spending time with another Yoga enthusiast, be it a close friend or partner, there are Yoga asanas that two people can perform.
These asanas can add another dimension to your Yoga practice, strengthen the bonds of trust, and add further depth to the relationship.
Asana Yoga Meaning. Now, cast your mind away from more intimate forms of Yoga, like the tantric asanas found in text like the Kama-Sutra. These asanas are more about cultivating your energy with another, helping each other reach new levels of Yoga understanding, and creating a stinger bond between two people.
Hot Asana Yoga? Of course, if your relationship is romantic, then this deep exchange of energy can be a great way to reconnect and reignite or magnify an already strong bond between two life partners.
Now, you don’t have to be an advanced yoga practitioner to engage in couples or friends Yoga, so no need to start practicing the “Killer Praying mantis Pose” in preparation.
Instead, these seven paired Yoga Asanas will be perfect for Yoga couples of all skill levels. Read on to learn 7 paired asanas to strengthen your relationship with your partner.
7 Paired Yoga Asanas
Although there are many yoga asanas that couples could perform, it is best to start with some basic positions, even if you are both seasoned Yoga practitioners. New things aren’t always as easy as they appear, even when the moments and concepts are familiar.
As you have developed your own internal and external balance within your solo practice, you also need to build skills and awareness of your partner when beginning your couples Yoga asanas.
This is one of the significant ways that paired Yoga helps friends and lovers strengthen their relationships by turning into each other’s bodies, showing support, sharing the experience and developments and tuning into one another subtle movements and energy.
So, As You Go Through These Asanas, Remember:
- Go slow
- Communicate at all times
- Breath rhythmically together, find a rhythm and cadence
- Lower your guard and be vulnerable with each other
- Show a lot of attention and care
Asana Yoga Poses approach your practice with love, and have fun!
1: Partner Breathing
- Sit back to back with your partner cross-legged on the floor.
- Ensure your spines are straight and your chins are up with your head slightly forward.
- Get into a breathing pattern together. Start within for three, hold for three, out for three, hold for three and repeat ( insert breath of yogis or similar hyperlink?)
- Repeat this for a few minutes and extend your breathing asana as you develop
2: Assisted Forward Folds
- Stand back to back.
- Fold forward at the hips, keeping the legs straight, and grab your partner’s hands.
- Hold the pose for five breaths and repeat.
- Practice regularly until you can easily grab your partners shins.
3: Couples Seated Twists
- Begin sitting back-to-back with your legs crossed.
- Twist around, and place your right hand on your partner’s left thigh, with your left hand on your right knee. The other person mirrors the same movements.
- Inhale as you stretch your spine. Twist as you exhale.
- Hold for five breaths, and repeat switching sides each time.
4: Two-Person Temple Folds
- Face each other in a standing position.
- With feet apart, inhale, extend both your arms overhead and hinge forward at the hips until touching hands with your partner.
- Carefully begin to forward fold, bringing elbows together, then forearms and hands until all are resting together.
- Counter each other’s weight as you bend forward.
- Hold for five breaths, then carefully walk toward each other up until your torso’s are upright. Releasing and then repeating.
5: The Back To Back Chair Pose
- Begin standing back to back with your partner with feet apart.
- Lean into your partner’s back and counter each other’s body weight for support.
- Interlace your arms. Progress to no arms as your strength increases.
- Carefully, squat down like you were both sitting in an invisible chair, supporting each other’s weight. Drop until your knees are directly over your ankles.
- Hold for five breaths.
- Careful not to allow the other to fall as you work your way back up.
6: Couples boat pose
- Begin sitting on the floor, opposite sides of the Yoga mat. Keep the legs together.
- Hold your partner’s hands on the outside of your hips.
- Keep your spine straight, and raise your legs, touching the soles of your feet to your partner’s.
- Balance your body as you straighten your legs up towards the sky.
- Hold for five breaths, and repeat.
- Slowly progress your boat pose till you gain more mutual flexibility in your lift.
7: Partner Savasana
- Lay flat on the floor, holding your partner’s hand.
- Match each other’s rhythmic breathing, just like in the partner breathing exercise.
- While remaining in sync, and connected, allow your bodies to drop into deep relaxation.
After your paired yoga sessions have finished in Savasana, it is important to show care for each other and debrief.
Remember to debrief, discuss what you liked and disliked, how you can improve together, laugh about what didn’t work, and celebrate what did. The more you open your energy, share, and love together, the stronger your bonds will be in between paired yoga sessions. Namaste.
Have you ever tried Yoga with your partner or close friend? Have you and your partner already got a paired Yoga routine? If you are new to paired Yoga, we hope this has helped you get on the path.
If you would like to read more interesting Yoga blogs, like Yoga Asanas to strengthen your relationship with your partner, then sign up for our mailing list.
Not only will you gain access to tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your Yoga practice, and learn the fine art of Yoga Asanas, but you will also be able to take advantage of members-only deals in our online shop and find pathways to your future career as a Yoga teacher.
