Partner Yoga can be a rewarding experience with a trusted partner. It can also serve to add variety and, sometimes, difficulty to an otherwise normal routine and is the ultimate way to learn from another Yoga practitioner.
Hugasana
Hugs teach people how to give and receive. And if that’s not enough, research suggests that touch (and what is a hug, if not touch?) can contribute to healing sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Stand and face your partner; move close to one another.
Open your arms wide, and each of you wrap them around your partner in a nice embrace.
Stay for 4 to 5 breaths.
Smiling and laughter are also good for your health, so let loose and go with the flow as you perform the hugasana with your partner.
Partner warrior II
Warrior II as a partner pose blends the many benefits of this powerful posture — especially improvements in strength, stamina, and balance — with the interpersonal benefits of partner Yoga.
Stand sideways with your partner, facing the same forward direction.
Touch the insides of your feet together.
Reach with your inside hand, and place it on your partner’s upper arm.
Turn your outside foot out and away from your partner about 90 degrees, and raise your outside arm so it’s parallel to the floor.
Inhale deeply and, as you exhale, bend your outside leg to a right angle as your back hand slides along your partner’s arm toward his wrist.
Stay in the final posture, firmly gripping your partner’s wrist, for 6 to 8 breaths.
When you’re finished, straighten your legs, release your hands, switch places, and repeat on the other side.
When you’re holding the posture in step 6, try tucking your tail, to allow your hips to open. Also think of lengthening through the top of your head and widening with your arms.
