The Art of Perfection: 10 Eye-Catching Yoga Poses That Will Inspire You

Learning how to master various yoga poses takes a great deal of time, discipline, and a whole lot of practice. There are three main keys to succeeding: the flexibility necessary to contort your body, balance, and strength. It won’t come easy, and you might even feel like quitting, but resist the urge. As you get into it, you will gradually feel confident in your abilities.

When you reach your peak, you’ll be able to do more than you ever thought possible. There truly are no limits to what you can accomplish. Need proof? Check out these 10 yogis who have it down to a science. Do keep in mind that it took them years to learn these advanced poses, so trying to imitate them would be a very bad idea. The first step is to get with a trained yoga instructor and learn yoga step-by-step. If you stick to it, you too might find yourself on a list of amazing yoga poses!

1. Headstand With Eagle Legs

Although Eagle Legs is a conventional pose that you’ll see at pretty much every yoga studio, doing it on your hands is a different story. The key is to develop strength in your core so that you are able to do handstands. Once that becomes second nature, you will learn how to do the leg bind.

2. Monkey Side Plank

For this, you will need to strengthen the entire sides of your body and really get those hammies stretched out. The reason why the experts love learning this technique is because it keeps them honest. If they slack off on training, they will quickly lose the ability to do this difficult pose.

3. Killer Praying Mantis

Those who are masters of flexibility will have no problem with this one… but good luck to everybody else. What makes this such a challenge is that the body is being opened in two entirely distinct directions; two involving the hip flexors and inner thighs and the other in the back quad. As with most yoga techniques, you will need to train yourself to properly breathe.

4. One-Legged Forearm Wheel

This is another technique that is extremely difficult because there are so many different parts of the body that need to be trained. Doing the wheel — which involves an intense backbend — takes a lot of practice and effort in itself. But adding the forearm aspect requires you to fully develop your triceps and shoulders. And, of course, lifting that one leg up can only be accomplished with a solid core and great leg strength. As with many others on this list, correct breathing is a must.

5. Eight-Angle Pose

It goes without saying that you need to have perfect balance and impressive upper body strength in order to do most yoga poses. But the real reason why this technique is so difficult is that it really tests you mentally. You need to develop confidence and trust in yourself, especially as you learn to move your hips back. Don’t forget to have fun with this and experiment a little as you train your body to get it right.

6. Fallen Angel

Before you can attempt this, you will first need to perfect the Side Crow, which even the best yogis require time to learn. But once you do, the Fallen Angel is a way to demonstrate your leg and core strength. You will also need to have confidence in yourself since a really intimidating element of this technique involves gently resting the side of your head on the ground as you rely on your arms to keep yourself balanced.

7. Handstand With Scorpion Legs

If you’ve learned how to do a handstand, you appreciate the hard work that went into it. It is a total-body effort that requires strong legs, core, and shoulders. When you incorporate the Scorpion, it really takes things to a whole new level. It starts with doing that aforementioned handstand and then hanging onto that center of gravity as you do a backbend. It won’t all come together right away; the way to work your way up is to start with your forearms, as it will serve as a sturdy foundation as you get better at this pose.

8. Headstand With Lotus Legs and Extended Arms

The Lotus is a key feature of yoga as a whole, but this particular technique really turns things on its head…literally. You first need to develop the strength and skill to do the perfect headstand while using open hips and core strength to strike the Lotus pose.

9. Split-Leg Handstand

This technique involves positioning your head below your heart, which means you need intense focus and perfect balance. The yoga experts suggest finding a focal point as you are extending and balancing your legs in opposite directions.

10. Standing Splits Against a Wall

This is yet another technique that you can only do if you’ve got flexible hammies and glutes of stone. Having a strong lower core is also a must since this pose requires you to open your arms to the side.