Yoga isn’t about exercising, its about improving your lifestyle. It’s a gentle and peaceful recreation that helps fight off the stress caused by work and/or every day life situations.

It helps to ground & center your being, whilst with the breathing techniques and subtle body movements, it also helps to calm your overactive mind (and that is one that I do have!), bringing you back to a place of serenity and complete balance.

You don’t need to be experienced in the art of yoga to understand the positions entirely but with time and patience you’ll learn the complete benefits of each position and grow from it.

All you need is to spend 20-minutes or so, two to three times a week to help balance you, melt away any stress you might be having and at the same time, tighten some of those not so firm body parts too.

How amazing is that?! Uniting the mind, body and spirit. Now that is my type of work out. Check out four yoga poses that will help to tone but calm the mind and spirit.

The tree pose is one of my favourite poses. This pose is great for strengthening your thighs & it also really helps you to gain balance, both mentally & physically.

Stand with both arms at your side.  Shift your weight onto the left leg and place the sole of the right foot inside your inner left thigh, near your groin.

If you are able to: press the right heel into your inner left groin, with your toes pointing towards the floor.

If not, thats ok, just use your right hand to hold onto your foot in that position. The center of your pelvis should be directly over the left foot.

Once you are balanced, bring your left hand into the centre of your chest in a payer like position. Remember to keep your hips facing forward.

Stay in this position for up to a minute & then change sides. Repeat this pose four times.

This pose is great for strengthening the spine & shoulders and also helps increase the flexibility for your spine too.

Lie face down on the floor in front of you with your hands directly underneath your shoulders, with your legs extended and with the tops of your feet touching on the floor.

Tuck the hips downward as you squeeze in your glutes & hug the elbows back into the sides of your body.

On the count of breath, begin to push with arms to lift up your chest off the floor, going only as far as you can.

Hold this pose from 30-seconds up to a minute, breathing in and out, slowly.

Release back to the floor with an exhale. Repeat this pose four times.

This pose is great to calm your mind, relieve stress & it also stretches the shoulders, hamstrings and calves.

Begin this position on all fours with hands directly under your shoulders and the knees under your hips.

Curl your toes under, and lift your butt/hips up into the air, bringing your body into an inverted ‘V’.

Keep your shoulders away from your ears and your feet should be hip width distance apart & the knees slightly bent.

Straighten your knees but don’t lock them.

Hold this position for four full breaths. On the fifth breath, lower your body down and repeat this pose again three more times.

This position is great for lower back aches.

Sit yourself down on the ground, into a siting position.

Press the soles of your feet together, with your knees both out, grasping the big toe of each foot.

Stretch out your spine, hinge forward with your hips and lean forward, slowly and gently.

Breathe in deep breaths, slowly.

Hold this pose for a count of six breaths.

These are just a few of my favourite poses that I do regularly to help ground me and bring me back to a place of balance and calmness within me. I hope that they help you too.

Photography by by TAS / Location: Barwon Heads (Victoria) – AUSTRALIA

Do you do yoga? If so, what are your favourite poses? If you don’t do yoga, would you consider taking it up? I would love to hear it in the comments below. Namaste xoxo