As a beginner yoga student, you can feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of positions and their strange-sounding names. Relax; your yoga practice will last a lifetime, providing you lots of opportunities to master dozens of poses. You may graduate to more challenging postures as you gain experience, but it’s best to keep things basic when you’re just starting. The fundamental stances described here of yoga postures for beginners will keep you motivated for quite some time and even guide you correctly.

1. Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Keep your weight mainly in your legs and extend your hips high, with your heels reaching toward the floor, in Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) (they do not need to touch the floor). If you have tight hamstrings, bend your knees a little to make the exercise easier. Maintain a parallel line between your feet.

2. Pose of the Mountain (Tadasana)

Mountain position aligns you in a straight line from your crown to your heels, with your shoulders and pelvis stacked along the line. Focus on rooting down with your feet and extending up with your spine, as each person’s physique is different.

3. The Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana I)

The most crucial thing to remember in Warrior is that the hips should be facing forward. Consider your hip points to be headlights; they should be bright.

4. Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)

Unlike Warrior I, Warrior II has the hips facing the mat’s side. As a result, the hips and shoulders expand to the side as you transition from Warrior I to Warrior II. You’ll also twist your rear foot such that your toes are at a 45-degree angle.

5. Side Angle Extending (Utthita Parvakonasana)

Instead of laying your hand on the floor, you can raise your forearm to your thigh in Extended Side Angle Pose. It should sit softly on your thigh and not be too heavy. You can keep your shoulders open with this alteration.

7. Pose in the Triangle (Utthita Trikonasana)

Rest your hand on your leg higher up—on your shin or thigh—rather than immediately on your knee.

8. Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana)

Stay stable, root into the sole of the front foot, anchoring the outer edge of the rear foot, and engage the glutes and hamstrings. Lift your sight to the palm as it rises towards the sky. As you sink further into your hips, keep your front knee tracing across your ankle.

9. Garland Pose (Malasana)

Most people in the twenty-first century are unfamiliar with this position. It is, however, a good stretch for the muscles surrounding the pelvis and is sometimes referred to as a “hip opener” in yoga. If squatting is difficult for you, sit on a block or roll a towel or blanket beneath your heels. Continue to press your heels into the ground.

10. Bend half-way forward (Ardha Uttanasana)

Examine yourself in the mirror. To maintain your back flat, you may need to lift your hands off the ground and onto your legs as high as required. Then, bend your knees gently as necessary.

11. Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose)

Place a block on either side of your front foot to “raise the floor” to a level where your hands can easily reach.

12. Pose with Raised Hands (Urdhva Hastasana)

Urdhva Hastasana asks you to continue to root into the earth with your legs while reaching for the sky with your arms, built on the foundation of Mountain pose.

13. Lunge in a Low Position

Make a perfect angle with your front leg, with your knee precisely over your toes.