A Yoga Routine Built for Total Beginners (No Flexibility Required)

If you are totally new to yoga, if you are not flexible, or if you’ve tried other beginner yoga workouts and gotten frustrated because you can’t keep up or get into their positions, this is going to help scale you up.

We’re going to start with some basic, very easy modifications that still work the proper muscles and help you increase flexibility, but you just don’t have to be flexible already to do it. Grab your yoga mat, a knee pad or folded towel for padding, and a pair of yoga blocks if you have them.

The Breath and Hold Strategy

Before we jump into the poses, there are two key points to keep in mind throughout this entire routine:

1. Slow, Controlled Nasal Breath: First, make sure you get the right technique and stretch the right muscles, then use slow, controlled breathing in and out of the nose to lock it in. Your breathing tells your body that you can relax and that the muscles can safely open up. It’s also how you work on building stress relief and mindfulness.
2. Longer Holds: You might wonder why we hold these poses for so long. Fifteen seconds is not going to do anything to improve flexibility. We need to hold these poses for a longer time—about a minute to a minute and a half—so your body actually has time to adapt.

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Inflexible Men: Try This Lower Body Yoga (No Experience Needed)

In just 10 minutes, this beginner-focused routine will start to increase lower body flexibility, targeting hips, hamstrings, and ankles.

Pose 1: Low Lunge (Ankle & Hip Mobility)

Our first pose works on both ankle and hip mobility.

1. Start in a lunge position with one leg forward and your back knee down on the ground. Use a knee pad or fold over your yoga mat for extra padding if needed.
2. Instead of staying in a traditional low lunge, ease forward so your front knee goes past your ankle toward your toes while keeping your front heel planted firmly on the ground. Depending on your ankle mobility, your knee might not go much past the ankle, and that is completely normal. Just go as far forward as you can without pain—pushing into pain won’t improve your flexibility.
3. Keep your back knee down and make sure you engage the muscles in your back leg. Squeeze your back glute, quadriceps, and hamstrings to help open up the hip flexors in the front of that back hip.

For support, rest your hands on blocks, place them on your front thigh, or reach down to the ground. Maintain slow, controlled nasal breathing. Hold for a minute to a minute and a half, then switch sides and repeat the same process on the other leg.

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Pose 2: Pyramid Stretch (Hamstring Flexibility & Low Back Relief)

Next, we work on hamstring flexibility to help provide relief for the lower back.

1. Step one foot forward and the other foot back, pointed out at a 45-degree angle.
2. Start with your front knee bent over your ankle and place your hands on your front thigh or on yoga blocks.
3. Hinge forward at your hips while keeping your back flat. Avoid rounding your lower back to get lower; think about lengthening the front of your chest and keeping your spine neutral.
4. From here, start to straighten your front leg just until you feel a clear stretch through the hamstrings in the back of the thigh.

The goal isn’t to get your leg completely straight or touch your head to your knee; the goal is simply feeling the stretch in the right area while protecting your lower back. You can stack blocks on either side of your front foot at various height settings to make this comfortable. Breathe deeply in and out of your nose, hold the pose, and then switch to the other side.

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Pose 3: Warrior Two to Triangle Flow (Hip & Core Strength)

This two part flow works on hip opening, groin flexibility, leg endurance, and core stability.

Part A: Warrior Two

• Start in a wide-legged stance with your feet turned slightly in.
• Turn your front foot to face the top of your mat and bend your front knee so it tracks over your middle toes and stacks directly over the ankle. Push down through your front big toe and heel.
• Keep your hips and shoulders facing out to the side, and push your back hip forward so your shoulders stay stacked directly over your hips rather than leaning forward.
• Extend your arms straight out level with your shoulders and turn your head to look over your front middle finger. Keep your back leg straight and strong.

Part B: Triangle Pose

• From Warrior Two, straighten your front leg while keeping a slight micro-bend in the knee.
• Reach forward with your front hand, then bring that hand down to your ankle, shin, or a block placed inside your foot.
• Extend your opposite arm straight up toward the ceiling. Keep your torso in a straight line and engage your core from your mid-thighs to your abs for stability. Focus on maintaining strength through your hips rather than just sinking into a stretch.

After holding Triangle pose, bend back into your front knee to briefly return to Warrior Two before switching sides and repeating the flow on the other side.

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Practice Consistent Effort

If doing this felt uncomfortable, weird, or challenging, that is completely normal. This is a new movement practice, and you aren’t going to do it perfectly the first time. The important thing is that you try to do it consistently three times per week.

If you put in the effort and practice this regularly, I guarantee you’ll notice a major difference within a few weeks. You’ll get better at the poses, and you’ll feel better in your body.

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