Be More Intimate with Your Loved Ones by Partner Yoga

You can easily perform these poses with your spouse or friend. These poses stretch your entire body. As you are doing them with a partner, you can stay motivated to perform even the most difficult pose. All the yoga poses start by sitting in sukhasana, a comfortable cross-legged posture. Let’s explore different poses one by one:

• Spine Stretch: To do this stretch, you and your partner need to stick your backs against each other. Hips, back, and shoulder should properly lean over each other. Stretch the arm upwards by grabbing the wrists. Stay in the same pose for 10 to 15 minutes while breathing continuously. The partner that is holding the wrist of the other person gives a gentle stretch to reflex the spine.

• Side bend position: While in the spine stretch position, move the hands sideways without leaving the wrist of your partner. Move from left to right till one hand reaches the ground, and the other one reaches over the head. Bend sideways in each direction. Again, be in the lateral stretch position for 10 to 15 minutes. If you try to raise the hips and knees, it may cause an injury.

• Twist position: In this position, you will have to twist your lower back by turning around towards your back in an alternate fashion. This gives a good stretch to your lower back and kidneys. The twist should be from the waist rather than the neck. You can extend this exercise by moving one hand towards your partner’s knee.

• Forward and backward bend: The level of difficulty has now risen. One partner has to bend his back, and the other one has to raise his hips upwards to lay over the other’s back. This gives a 90-degree stretch to one partner while an 180 degree stretches to the other. You need to keep communicating with your partner to keep each other comfortable.

• Twist facing each other: In this position, both the partners have to face each other and raise their left hand while moving the other hand towards their back. Try to give a gentle pull to your partners’ hand which is at the back. Both your shoulders should come in a straight line to give better stretch to your spine.

• Paschimottanasan: Press your feet against each other while pointing your toes in the forward direction. Grab your partners’ wrist and bend your partner as forward as you can to give him a good stretch. Keep breathing while holding the partner in that position.

• Navasan: Sit in the paschimottanasana and move your hips forward by bending your knee. Hold each other’s hands and raise one leg upward. Now raise the second leg too; make sure your hands have a tight grip. Do not lean backwards in this position; it may cause an injury. Now start stretching the legs wide by taking both the hands in between the two legs. This will give your inner thighs a good stretch. Now bring the legs back onto the floor.

• Sitting wide leg stretch: Be in the same position where you left savasana. Now raise your left hand upwards, bend sideways, and touch the joined toes. Repeat the same pose with another hand by holding your previous hand.

• Prasarita Padottanasana: Try to bend towards your partner by holding his/her thighs. This forward bend needs to be done from the hip and not from the waist, which may cause an injury.

• Prasarita Janu Sirsasana: Bend one leg inwards and hold one hand of the partner to bend sideways to give yourself a proper stretch. Repeat the same pose for the other leg.

• Bridge pose to half shoulder stand: Start with sitting close to each other with your hips touching the feet of the partner. One partner places the feet on the other’s knee. Both the partners raise their pelvis up to give each other a perfect stretch. Make sure to breathe regularly while being in a certain posture.

After performing the poses come to the normal position by folding one leg at a time to avoid any kind of injury.