20 Great Postures for the 50-Plus Yogi

The asymmetrical forward bend pose lengthens both the back and the hamstrings. This pose can be very challenging in its traditional form, particularly bringing your head toward your leg. You definitely don’t want to ignore the most beneficial aspects of the pose by trying to make the pose look perfect.

Modification: Allow your forward leg to bend (instead of keeping it straight). Notice in the modification how much closer the model can bring her torso to her leg just by bending her knee, giving her more space to lengthen.

You will generally do twists toward the end of a Yoga sequence, when your muscles are warmed up and ready for stretching. The twisting posture continues strengthening and elongating those muscles that support your spine — all the way from the hips to the top of the spine.

This, of course, ultimately helps you stand straighter and walk more upright. Also, you prepare your back for sudden twisting movements that may happen when doing other things besides Yoga.

Modification: When you bring the bent knee across your body, the traditional form would require you to bring that knee to the floor. Instead, bring that knee toward the floor only as far as you feel a stretch, but not pain.

Today’s society strongly recognizes the aesthetic appeal of well-developed abdominals. And while you may choose to accept that “washboard abs” are an established Western value, you should also start to think of your abdominal muscles, your entire core, as being the front of your spine. Those muscles do indeed provide support for your back.

This concept becomes very obvious when I treat people who have back issues. Often, back muscles are overworked because they’re forced to do the work of abdominal muscles that are too weak to do the job.

The function of the boat pose is to strengthen the front of your spine. It’s an important goal, and your first priority should not be how good you’ll look in your bathing suit.

Modification: While traditional boat pose is done with your legs straight, one of the ways to modify it is to soften your knees. If this pose is still too challenging, trying lifting one leg while planting the other foot firmly on the mat (with your knee still bent). I included this pose here because it is a great way to build your core strength. It is critically important, however, for you to choose the appropriate modification (if needed).

Like so many postures, traditional Yoga equates numerous health benefits with the bridge pose. From insomnia and fatigue to anxiety and digestive issues, the bridge addresses a great deal.

For me, I primarily look at bridge pose variations as a way to compensate for abdominal work by integrating stability and control of the core.

In addition to compensating for abdominal work, bridge poses also prepare the neck and shoulder muscles for a shoulder stand inversion.

Modification: For some people, raising the hips off of the floor is too challenging. The easiest modification is to leave your hips on the ground, but tilt your pelvis upward.

For most people, child’s pose is calming, and most Yoga classes will treat it as a resting pose.

Modification: You can put your arms out in front of you or maybe alongside you (with your hands near your feet). Some people also find it easier to breathe if they open their knees instead of keeping them together.

Cobra pose is probably the most common back-bending posture. The primary function of this pose is to lengthen and strengthen the spine. You also stretch your arms and shoulders as you push upward and let your shoulders fall back. In any form, you need to keep your hips on the ground — and be careful not to over-arch your lower back.

Modification: One of the first modifications I’d like to mention is keeping your gluteal muscles (your butt) loose. Your glutes are big muscles, and they will want to do all the work. If you keep them relaxed, you’ll be forcing your low back muscles to take over instead. While the traditional cobra pose may allow you to use your gluteal muscles to help you lift, a more common technique requires you to keep your butt relaxed.

In Yoga therapy, we help restore the natural lumbar curve in the lower back using the Cobra pose without activating the gluteals. With too much sitting becoming the new smoking, adversely impacting the general health, we use this technique more and more.

Also note in the modified version shown; the model is doing this pose on his forearms (often called sphinx arms). This modification may be a good place to start if this pose is new to you.

Corpse pose is a relaxation pose that is always a real favorite — especially at the end of a class or home session. Yet it’s still a Yoga pose, so you need to remember that at least some work needs to be done.

The primary function of corpse pose is rest. This pose is sometimes used at the beginning of class to help you relax and turn your attention away from what happened earlier or what may be on your agenda for later — or maybe just the grocery list. It’s a pose that gives you an opportunity to steady your mind and connect with your breath.

At the end, the pose gives you an opportunity to make sure that you have relaxed all the muscles you used throughout the practice and once again find a place inside that is peaceful and stress-free.

Modification: The primary goal of this pose is to be comfortable, so feel free to make any adjustments that will help you relax. A common modification is to bend the knees with support.

Like so many postures, this common Yoga pose offers a multitude of benefits. Still, the lengthening of the spine as it slightly arches as well as the hamstrings is readily apparent.

Modification: The problem with this pose is that you can put too much weight in your hands, creating issues for your wrists and shoulders. Bending your knees can help you distribute your weight more evenly and maybe even allow you to lower your heels closer to the ground. You could also try walking your feet slightly closer to your hands.

Keep in mind that your pelvis and femurs are designed to support your weight. Shoulder and arm structures are not, so find a balance of support.

This pose is clearly used for relaxation. But beware that, to sit straight and tall, you will have to engage certain back muscles that will actually strengthen as you hold the pose.

One school of thought in Yoga philosophy believes all Yoga postures are designed to stabilize your body so that you will be stable enough to sit in this position for long periods of time — particularly for meditation.

Modification: If you want to make this pose easier, especially if you’re staying in it for a few minutes, it helps to sit on something. It could be a stack of blankets, blocks, a bolster, or a cushion. Elevating your spine helps make it longer without using your own muscles to do it. You can also sit against a wall to support your back.

In traditional Yoga, the great seal pose is generally considered advanced because it requires doing all three of the locks or bandhas, as they’re called in traditional Yoga. In Sanskrit, bandha means to tighten or hold tight. I am including this pose in this routine because its modified version offers a great way to relax and to strengthen the back muscles and the rest of the core.

Modification: In this more accessible version of the pose, don’t add the locks (at least not right away). It still yields great benefits. Notice that in the modified version, while the back is still arched (not rounded), you can certainly soften the knee of the straight leg.

In a traditional chair or half chair pose, your arms and legs are stretching and strengthening, which happens in the modified version as well (though, maybe to a lesser extent). But it’s the extension of the spine that is the primary function.

Modification: The first modification you can make is to widen your stance. It should feel more stable, more comfortable.

The next thing to think about is how straight you want to make your arms. Again, because the primary function of this pose is to put you into a slight backbend (extension), soften your arms if you feel any pain or discomfort when you straighten them up toward your ears.

Finally, pay attention to how your knees feel and decide how deeply you want to squat. Because it is a half chair pose, even the traditional version will go down only halfway. You may decide that, for you at that moment, less than halfway makes more sense.

Once again, the function of the half-standing forward bend pose relates to the spine. In each version of the pose, the back is slightly arched. Holding this pose not only lengthens and strengthens the back muscles, but it also targets the arms and shoulders.

Modification: Putting a slight bend in the knees makes this pose more accessible while still allowing for a slightly arched back. Also, notice that the feet are wider in the modified pose (instead of together), making for a more comfortable, sturdier stance.

While the knees-to-chest resting pose may seem very basic, it is an important way to compensate the body after doing back bends and twists. It is a reset, of sorts, and a great way to massage your lower back (especially if you rock side to side). Bending your knees takes pressure off the back of your legs and lumbar area.

Modification: One of the ways you can modify this pose is by positioning your hands behind your knees instead of in front of them or putting them on your knee caps with arms extended.

All you need to do is look at the photographs to know that the locust pose is primarily a back bend. You have to use the muscles supporting your spine, including your gluteal muscles, to achieve an arch in your back.

Modifications: You have the choice of several variations or modifications in this pose. Most of them have to do with what you do with your arms and legs. Modifications include

• Both legs on the ground
• One leg on the ground and lifting the other
• Both arms in front of you, remaining on the ground as you lift
• One arm lifts while the other remains down
• One or both arms down at your sides

You should try various combinations in this pose to see what works best for you at the moment. (Don’t strain your back by trying to create a bigger arch: Think long instead.)

If your modification includes using just one arm and/or leg, do both sides. While the primary function of the pose may be a back bend, you’re also strengthening your arms and legs as you lift, so you need to keep both sides even.

Mountain pose is often used as a starting position. As you can see, it is a relatively easy pose, but keep in mind it should also be a strong pose — your muscles are engaged, even strengthened in the process.

If, however, your first priority in any posture is thinking about what it’s doing for your spine, this pose is no different. To that end, mountain pose is an opportunity for you to stand straight and tall, to improve and maybe even train your posture.

Modification: The most obvious modification you can make in this pose is to bring your feet to about hip’s-width apart, instead of standing in the more traditional way with your feet together. Bringing your palms forward requires your shoulders to open and to stretch your upper chest muscles (pectorals). Palms at your side is more relaxed.

Try this posture with and without modifications to decide what feels best.

Twisting poses have many reputed benefits in Yoga, but the primary function in the revolved triangle pose is the lengthening of the back muscles. Like all twists, this pose can provide some relief for low back pain — depending, of course, on what’s causing the pain.

Modification: If you can’t reach the floor in this pose, place a block by your foot and put your hand on the block. This modification may not be necessary if you put a good bend in that front knee.

Also, if it’s painful for you to reach upward, you can also wrap your hand around your low back (still keeping your shoulder up toward the ceiling).

The seated forward bend pose is great for lengthening the spine and surrounding shoulder muscles, and traditional Yoga even notes benefits relating to digestion, weight loss, anxiety, and insomnia. But another important, less positive result of this pose is injury.

The goal is to bring your head toward your knees. But, most people’s hamstrings will prevent that from happening.

All too often, people try to compensate for tight hamstrings by increasing the bend using their spines, which may lead to a back injury. You need to be thoughtful when doing this pose.

Modification: The first modification you can make is to bend your knees. Again, the function of the pose doesn’t relate to the legs — not even the hamstrings (even though they’ll be challenged). If the focus is on the spine, bending your knees will allow you to bend forward more. If it feels okay, you can round your back; if it hurts to round, keep your back long.

All day long, as you sit or stand, walk or drive, you remain upright, with gravity pulling your vertebrae together — in effect, compressing your spine (your discs are designed to help cushion that compression). The goal of the standing forward bend pose is actually to decompress your spine. You can see that the pull of gravity spreads your vertebrae apart. Your spine is lengthened and decompressed.

Modification: In the traditional form of the pose, you hinge forward from the hips, bringing your head toward your knees, keeping your legs as straight as possible. Of course, your hamstrings may have a different idea. Because the function of the pose is to lengthen and decompress the spine, softening your knees (bending your legs) is a totally acceptable way to get your head closer to your knees. Don’t worry about your tight hamstrings.

Doing inverted poses in Yoga addresses many purported problems, including insomnia, digestion problems, menopause symptoms, and anxiety. From my experience, the issue is that inversions are the category of Yoga poses that causes the most injuries. The challenge is to find a version of the pose that is relatively safe, while still offering the benefits.

The primary reason I include this pose is that it stretches the shoulders and neck, while at the same time is safer than the more advanced inversions.

Modification: The modified version of this pose offers most of the benefits of an inversion, while still being a safe posture. You can use any number of props, including a bolster, foam block, or stack of blankets, under your lower back to lift your hips. (If the pose is still too challenging, try putting your legs up a wall.)

In a Yoga class, you often hear about reversing blood flow, but you know that your blood always flows in the same direction. You are, however, reversing the impact of gravity on your circulation. When you’re inverted, gravity helps direct the blood back to your heart, making your heart work less to get it there and ultimately helping you to relax more.

Like so many Yoga poses, the Warrior I pose has numerous benefits. You’re strengthening the front of the thigh (quadricep) of your forward leg and stretching the back of your other leg. But, as always, it’s what’s happening in your spine that is the most important aspect of this pose.

Coming into this pose requires you to arch your back. The muscles in your back that are supporting your spine are activated and strengthened.

Modification: How much you choose to straighten or bend your limbs is entirely up to you. If you need to bend your arms more or perhaps bend your legs less, make that choice — particularly if such modifications help you arch your back. Of course, if activating any of these muscles causes you pain, then bending a bit forward will allow you to find some relief and hopefully maintain some version of the pose.