Partner Yoga is an alternative way to practice yoga that allows you to practice in a more intimate and comfortable setting, and without a teacher present. No experience with yoga needed, from beginners to pros.
Here is the first in an ongoing series of posts that will introduce you to 7 benefits of partner yoga. I believe these benefits are important considerations when you are choosing your yoga teacher. They are also important when you are considering yoga supplies and how you use them. The benefits of partner yoga are: 1. You can see your posture 2. You can see your breath 3. You can see where your body has tension 4. You can practice in a non-intimidating way 5. You can practice with someone you care about
Partner yoga is a growing trend in the yoga scene, which means you can practice yoga with your partner and do some yoga poses together. Here are 7 benefits of partner yoga + 5 poses to get you started. The word yoga means union in Sanskrit, and that’s what partner yoga aims to do: bring two people together.
It’s a great tool for building connection and intimacy in almost any relationship, whether it’s a friendship, a family member or a loved one. The postures and sequences are designed to build and encourage confidence, improve communication and create a sense of laughter and ease.
Partner yoga brings people together through movement, play, breathing, touch and, importantly in this forum, intimacy. Here are some of the benefits of partner yoga and what it can do for your relationship:
Table of Contents
1) Strengthens and maintains physical and emotional support in relationships
Both partners must be fully engaged and rely on each other to create the postures and maintain balance, alignment and focus. This is a great way to strengthen the bond between you and your loved one by learning to let go, improve communication, be open and fully believe in each other for full support in every pose.
2) Creating common moments
Partner yoga is not only about basing and flying, but also about giving and receiving. The size doesn’t matter, it’s the intent that counts. Forget the idea that the big guys get the little guys, because it works both ways!
Imagine two people moving together. Give yourself a chance to let someone else take your weight. Seize the opportunity to have someone work with you to create a joint movement. Say, what’s sexier than this – connecting and creating amazing moments together while flying high!
3) Learning to let go
Sometimes we all take life too seriously and after a busy day, we always tend to take it out on our partner. Partner yoga is about learning to let go and enjoy life! Create that childlike attitude to life and learn to live the life you love.
4) Privacy block
Training with people close to you can help you get closer. In a relationship, there are always phases where the status quo is challenged and you have to work through them together. Partner yoga creates a fantastic feeling of fun and a sense of letting go and not taking each other or all the problems around you too seriously!
5) Improved self-awareness and self-confidence
By learning to trust another, you strengthen your ability to trust yourself. The practice of partner yoga reveals the beauty of our interdependence. We see that if we take the risk of making ourselves vulnerable in the presence of another, we can go much further with much less effort.
The same goes for life. We can accomplish so much more, with so much more joy and ease, if we support each other.
6) The power of touch
As in relationships, touch is an essential part of partner yoga. Leverage and kinesthetic awareness improve body performance and allow you to deepen postures with less effort. We touch others and they touch us. We use the touch we receive to expand our awareness of the other person and to open ourselves to a greater depth of our bodies and minds.
7) Create a sense of balance
We tend to have certain patterns in our relationships. At one end of the spectrum, we can be so sensitive and accommodating to others that we lose touch with our own healthy boundaries. On the other hand, we can be so closed emotionally and energetically that we fail to make a real connection with others.
In partner yoga, there is no giver or receiver of the pose. Both partners are fully engaged in their own experiences, with each playing a distinctly supportive role to the other, creating a perfect sense of balance.
5 Yoga postures with a partner to increase adrenaline
Below are poses that will open your hamstrings and heart, strengthen your core muscles, calm your nervous system and increase your libido! These are all great ingredients for a fun play date!
1. Breathing partner
- Start in a comfortable sitting position, back to back.
- Start taking turns breathing with your partner, so that when you breathe in, they breathe out, and vice versa.
- Continue for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Partner Tower
- Start in a sitting position with your legs crossed and your back arched.
- Breathe in and extend your arms above your head.
- Exhaling and turning to the right, bring your right hand to the inside of your partner’s left knee and your left hand to the outside of their right knee/thigh. Your partner should repeat the movements.
- Hold for three to five breaths, then repeat on the other side.
3. Double dog lying
- Start with the downward dog position, one in front of the other.
- Move your legs and arms backwards until you can walk your feet along the outside of your partner’s lower back, find the back of their thighs, and get into a stable, comfortable position.
- Keep talking while you do the pose.
- Hold this position for five to seven breaths. Ask your partner to bend his knees and lower his hips to the table top, then do the child’s pose with his feet on the floor.
4. Partner pre-fold
- Sit with your legs apart, facing each other, and bring the soles of your feet toward each other.
- Hold your arms out towards each other and press the opposite palm against your forearm.
- Inhale and stretch along the spine.
- Exhale as one person leans forward from the hips and your partner leans back, keeping the spine and arms straight.
- Hold this position for five to seven breaths.
5. Friendly laying of boats
- Sit in a comfortable position with knees bent and toes together. Grab hold of your partner’s wrists.
- Walk with the soles of your feet together and your knees to your chest.
- Keeping your spine straight and your chest open, start stretching your legs. This can be challenging, so stay upbeat and try to stretch one leg at a time.
- Hold this position for five to seven breaths.
If you’re looking for a way to improve your individual yoga practice while taking your relationship with another person to the next level, consider this approach to physical and emotional fitness. Bring your loved one, roll out a rug and see what happens!
As a partner to your instructor, you are able to take your practice to a whole other level. You can establish a strong bond and create an atmosphere that allows others to find their practice in a space that will be conducive to them. This article will show you some of the benefits of partner yoga and what you can do to help get you started!