Want to challenge yourself with advanced yoga poses? There are several advanced yoga poses that are challenging and healthy.

Yoga poses for beginners are designed to introduce people to the ancient health practice. Once you are done with the simple movements, you can prepare yourself for more complex asanas or poses. Some yoga poses are difficult to perform due to their complexity, requiring a high degree of flexibility, strength, and balance. These are the advanced yoga poses that you can do to challenge yourself and also gain health benefits. If you want to try complex yoga poses, start gradually with the help of a yoga expert. Make sure that you do not force your body, as this can cause pain or injury.

Difficult Yoga Poses to Challenge Yourself

People are often drawn to yoga because of its health benefits. Yoga can help ease stomach problems like constipation, according to a study published in Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy in 2021.

A woman doing yoga — Yoga Benefits Health Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

In a 2016 review published in Journal of Orthopedics and RheumatologyYoga has been found to be effective in reducing low back pain.

Once you have mastered the simple asanas, you can move on to advanced yoga poses to reap the health benefits. Here are some of the asanas you can do:

1. Paryankasana or couch pose

Start doing the yoga asana on the couch, kneeling.
Extend your legs beyond your hips, keeping your knees together and your feet straight.
Lower your upper body, using your palms on the floor and your elbows for support, and lie on your back with your legs crossed and your toes pointed inward.
Lie on the floor, interlace your fingers and place your palms on your lower chest.
Spread your arms out to the sides, supporting yourself with your palms and elbows, and lift your upper body.

“Paryankasana helps stretch and strengthen the lower back and hips, improving flexibility and Reducing lower back pain” says yoga expert Dr. Hansaji Yogendra.

2. Halasana or Plow Pose

Keep your legs straight and lie on your back.
Raise both legs in a semi-circle above your head to touch the floor behind you, pointing your toes out and pressing your palms down.
To exit, lift your legs up, lower your back and return your legs to the starting position.

Halasana stretches the spine, shoulders and legs, stimulates the thyroid gland and abdominal organs. It helps aid in digestion and improving metabolic function.

3. Dhanurvakrasana or bow pose.

Lie on your stomach, place your forehead on the mat, straighten your legs, and spread your toes apart.
Grasp your ankles, keeping your knees together.
Raise your head, arch your spine and extend your legs up into a bow shape with your toes pointing up.
Hold the position, then lower your head and relax your ankles.

Dhanurvakrasana strengthens the back, legs and core, stimulates the digestive organs and increases blood circulation in the abdominal organs.

4. Sarvangasana or shoulder stand

Lie on your back with your legs together.
Raise both legs straight up.
Raise your arms, grab your waist and push your body up.
Position your hands so that they support your lower back and transfer your weight to your shoulders.
Hold the position, then bend your knees toward your head and lower your hips to the mat, using your hands to support yourself.

“This pose improves blood circulation in the thyroid gland,” says the expert.

5. Ardha Matsyendrasana or Half Lord of the Fishes Pose

Sit with your legs extended and assume the Half Lord of the Fishes pose.
Bend your left leg, pressing your heel towards your perineum.
Place your right heel next to your left knee.
Rotate your torso to the right, holding your right ankle with your left hand.
Turn further and reach your right hand behind your back to your left hip, turning your neck toward your right shoulder.
Hold the pose, then straighten your torso and neck, return your right arm to the side and spread your legs.

Ardha Matsyendrasana increases the flexibility of the spine, strengthens the back and core, stimulates the digestive organs and promotes detoxification of the body.

6. Padmasana or lotus pose.

Sit with your legs extended.
Bend your right leg, placing your heel at the base of your left thigh.
Keep your left heel at the base of your right thigh.
Place your left hand below your navel, palm up, and place your right hand on top of it.

Padmasana looks simple, but it is not. “It is improves flexibility in the knees and ankles, promoting better posture and alignment. It also calms the mind and helps improve concentration,” says Dr. Hansaji.

Woman doing padmasana — Padmasana is a difficult yoga pose. Image courtesy of Freepik

7. Ustrasana or Camel Pose

Kneel on the mat, lean back and place your hands behind you, fingers on the floor.
Lift your pelvis, lift your upper body up and tilt your neck back.
Hold the pose, then move your upper body back, straighten your neck and return to a kneeling position.

“It stretches and opens the chest and shoulders, improving spinal flexibility and posture,” says the expert.

8. Ganda Bherundasana or Chin Stand

To do a chin stand, start with downward facing dog pose or adho mukha svanasana.
Roll forward into a plank position, bending your elbows.
Roll forward and make sure your chin, shoulders and chest are in contact with the yoga mat.
Bend your left toes and grab the mat. Raise your right leg and bend your left.
Support your right leg with your left leg and lift it higher.
Raise your left leg and touch your right.
Extend both legs up while simultaneously rotating your inner thighs toward each other and squeezing them together.

The exercise strengthens the back, hips and legs while improving flexibility and balance.

Take your steps slowly and don’t overexert yourself, as this can lead to strains and injuries. “If you don’t practice these challenging yoga poses properly, you can end up with muscle strains and injuries,” says the expert.

When it comes to advanced yoga poses, it is important to move slowly and mindfully. Do warm-up exercises to prepare your body for advanced yoga poses.

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