Di Hickman

discover how to live your yoga, and love life

Pyramid Pose Yoga Flow – 60 minute yoga class for beginners

//  by //  64 Comments

As we headed into the lock down in March, the gyms and yoga studio closed and I shifted my focus online. This free 60 minute Pyramid Pose Yoga flow class is the last thing I filmed in my ‘old’ yoga room. It’s being remodeled (DIY project), so this class feels a little bitter sweet. A surrender into a new phase in my life, on so many levels.

60 minute class pyramid pose. Ease in and surrender

Because we’re remodeling the room ourselves this video edit took a while. I edited the first half, then got deep into painting and sanding before finally finishing the editing up this weekend.

The video is available above, or you can view on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, hit the like button and comment! Also let me know what other video content you’d love to see. This new yoga room will need breaking in pretty soon!

Pyramid pose yoga flow – modifications & variations

A few months ago I did a pyramid pose yoga flow class for my Patrons. In that class the focus was more on the shoulders/arms. One thing I wanted to do was another pyramid class but for beginners, focusing on the hip hinge and the legs. It’s a strong pose for lengthening the whole back body.

yoga teacher demonstrating pyramid pose using a chair

The hamstrings and calves can often be a challenge in this pose. In the video I show variations of pyramid pose using a stool and blocks. By bringing the floor up to you, you allow some surrender into the pose. The variation below, with all the props, is one of my favorites!

yoga teacher demonstrating pyramid pose using a chair and blocks

An issue I see in pyramid pose is that the pelvis and torso tend to rotate due to the back foot turning out. We don’t want that. Parvsottanasana is a bias to neutral/internal rotation of the hips. So turn the toes on the back foot to point forward. You can see in the images above, my back foot is pointing more toward the front short edge of my mat.

Hamstring or Calves?

Ok, great now your back toes point forward but your heel won’t touch the ground? At least, not without screaming at you! Firstly, is there any soft tissue work that you’ve skipped? If not, here’s where we break the rules. Your heel doesn’t have to touch the ground! Read that again.

yoga teacher demonstrating pyramid pose with back heel elevated and supported

Can you use something to bring the ground UP to you? You can see above I used a folded blanket to support my heel. Elevating the back heel might allow you to get that little bit deeper into the pose. Sometimes you have to think about what you need during a yoga pose.

yoga teacher demonstrating pyramid pose using support

If you don’t have a blanket, a towel? Get creative! In my recent post about what to use instead of yoga blocks I mentioned using books. Well here is the same elevation of the heel, but using a book!

yoga teacher demonstrating pyramid pose with back heel supported on a book and hands on blocks

I hope you give these variations a try, and check out the free hour long class: Pyramid Pose Yoga Flow. If you have suggestions for classes or poses you’d like me to cover in future content let me know!

yoga teacher sitting in siddhasana on a yoga mat

Questions

  • What is your limiting factor in pyramid pose?
  • Do you have yoga props at home?
  • How are you taking advantage of the lock down time?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  8. Kristine Nicole Alessandra

    I tried yoga before but my body won’t cooperate. I could not get into the poses which was frustrating for me. I think I should try some other form of yoga that would benefit those like me who has difficulty getting into the poses. I have seen aerial yoga demonstrations and that looks like fun.

    Reply

  10. Margaret | Live Like No One Else

    Ooh, yoga for beginners. I’ve been telling my husband that I’d like to try yoga. I just find that I haven’t been able to find the time. My goal this year has been to get at least 6000 steps. It’s a start. Wondering if yoga would help with my lower back muscles. I pulled it a couple of weeks ago and it’s such a pain in the but. I have found that this year (this is a frequent occurrence) I’ve not let it immobilize me. I’ve been still trying to be active through it. Seems to feel better when I’m active and moving around. As soon as I sit up, hard to get back up. Wonder if yoga wold be good for that?

    Reply

  12. Melanie williams

    Looking fab by the way. I have been doing yoga during lockdown so will be trying this out x

    Reply

  13. Nyxie

    I can’t wait to get into my yoga session today. I love it and have been really taking advantage of the extra time on my hands.

    Reply

  17. Tonya Tolliver

    I’ve never tried yoga, but you make it seem relatively easy. I know that it isn’t, but,thanks for the beginners video, maybe one day I’ll get up the nerve to try it.

    Reply

  18. Agnes

    I have never tried yoga. I have been doing 30 minutes abs workout per day during this lock down. I think I need to start yoga classes.

    Reply

  20. Marie Phillips

    I have been wanting to get back into yoga for some time, but yet I still haven’t. I really need to just suck it up and start doing it again. It will never happen on its own!

    Reply

  26. CA

    First time learning about the pyramid pose. I did yoga before. But Iā€™m just not so into it. But this seems like a good stretching exercise.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.