Partner yoga strengthens your relationship
May 26, 2020
The last months have shown us how important our social relationships are. We want to feel connected to each other and appreciate the time together more. Yoga with your partner is a wonderful opportunity to feel especially close to each other. You probably already belong to the 2.6 million Germans who practice yoga. But what about your second half?
Getting the boyfriend or girlfriend to do yoga can be a real challenge. In this article you will find the right arguments to inspire your partner to flow through asanas together with you. And all this without forcing him or her onto the mat.
Yoga cultivates relationships
Yoga brings balance, inside and outside
The fact is, yoga's good for you. Bringing body and mind into harmony only works if we take the time to listen. Yoga helps us to pay attention to our body and to observe our thoughts. In this way we strengthen our relationship to ourselves. We respect our body and learn to understand it better. We are rewarded with the fact that we feel good all around us.
When doing yoga for two there is another feel-good effect: the presence of your partner. Through joint exercises you bring your consciousness to a new level and feel the body and mind of your partner.
Studies have shown that couples who practice new activities together can feel both an increase in the quality of the relationship and an increase in physical attraction. So learning new skills together is not only fun, but also gives you the opportunity to spend time together and share a meaningful experience.
In fact, even your sex life can benefit from it. Because the better you know each other's body, the better you and your partner can relate to each other. Apart from that, partner yoga brings some benefits that not only strengthen your relationship, but also your health.
Why is it worth doing yoga with your partner?
First of all, what is better than combining two things you love? Practicing yoga and spending time with your loved one - that can only be beneficial. Yoga for two strengthens your motivation, improves your communication and has a calming effect.
1. twice the motivation
Have you ever experienced a motivational gap? Then you must know it's a lot easier to pull yourself together when you're not alone. Just the thought of taking time for each other is motivation enough to roll out the mat.
2. improve your communication
For the partner poses to work, you must rely on each other throughout and communicate verbally and nonverbally at all times. This requires a lot of trust and openness.
Physical touch can be a language of its own. It is a way to convey a feeling of care and express deep emotions without using words. Conscious touch has the ability to tell another person that they are seen, appreciated, loved and accepted.
3. come into the flow together
Being in flow with each other means understanding each other, even without verbal communication. According to a study by the British Psychological Society, coordinated non-verbal movement, as found in rhythmic breathing (pranayama), can help couples feel more in tune with each other.
The mutual adaptation of the movements helps to increase empathy and bonding. As you rely on each other to remain balanced and strong in the partner asanas, you must become one. You can find more on the topic of joint flow in our article AcroYoga - Together you are less alone.
4. the power of touch
While most yoga exercises help to find relaxation, yoga with a partner offers a special bonus. A study published in Psychological Science found that couples who hold hands experienced immediate stress relief.
Simply touching your partner can therefore reduce anxiety and help you deal with nerve-wracking moments. In partner yoga you experience this phenomenon particularly strongly through constant touching.
If these advantages are not yet powerful enough to convince your partner of the new common hobby, the following arguments are certainly a Game Changer.
Yoga for him: With these 3 arguments you bring your partner to yoga
Someone once again says that yoga is not for men.
1. Yoga is not for men?
You can directly contradict this myth and refer to the yoga teacher of the German national football team Patrick Broome. Not only in football, but also in many other professional sports yoga is gradually finding its way into the training program. The argument that yoga is not for men can easily be invalidated.
If he still has doubts, you can choose an (online) course led by a male yoga teacher as additional motivation.
Because some men simply adjust better to a male teacher.
2. yoga is a whole body work-out
According to the motto "No Pain, No Gain", for some athletes everything revolves around muscle building. If you don't work up a sweat, it's not a real work-out. Well, then you can show them how sweaty yoga can be with a round of Power Yoga.
Yoga can be used to train any muscle in the body, even those we did not even know existed. And just like other work-outs, you can focus each session on a different part of the body. Yoga is a wonderful way to keep muscle groups from atrophying and stay flexible despite muscle build-up.
3. yoga lets you down
Breathing techniques like pranayama are a great way to get your partner to open up to the more subtle aspects of yoga. Men are at least as stressed out as women, and sometimes even more so. If your partner is stressed after a hard day at work, breathing techniques can work wonders.
Of course, we cannot guarantee that any of these tips will lead your partner to become a devotional yogi. But it is worth a try to plant the seed of yoga in his mind. When the seed germinates, you can start directly with the following beginner's partner yoga exercises.
Beginner exercises for yoga for two
Partner yoga: from joint breathing exercises to daring acro-yoga poses
A gentle introduction is to breathe together, back to back.
Sit back to back in a comfortable position and let your feet rest in a cross-legged position. Stand up straight, shoulders away from your ears, arms relaxed.
Now you begin to breathe alternately. When your partner inhales deeply, you exhale. Repeat this for ten breaths. This breathing exercise helps you practice mutual mindfulness, relax together and feel connected.
Afterwards you can try the following exercises:
Give and take:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FlaGpGDDIk
This exercise only works if you feel exactly how you can support each other. A wonderful challenge that teaches you to give and take in balance.
Let go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mn8p2QhNY
Learn to let go of tension and open your hips through gentle pressure and weight from your partner. By the way, this exercise helps to let negative emotions go.
Accept:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN0d_0g1VUM
Be grateful and learn to accept the support of your partner. You will feel a little lighter right away.
Connectedness:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18BE3839LvU
Would you like a yoga pose to relax together? This exercise lets you breathe deeply together and feel very close to each other.
Tip: For the more adventurous among you, we recommend trying out Acro Yoga exercises.
If you are already comfortable with the basic partner exercises, there are many inspiring videos for advanced students such as those of the AcroYoga Team Noga Schwartz and Roi Silberberg: https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/00a7lonzzy?popover=true
You are single, but still want to try partner yoga?
Try partner yoga with your girlfriend
Don't worry, partner yoga is not just for couples. You can get a good friend, because friendships are also strengthened by this kind of yoga.
Become one unit
Partner yoga creates a connection between you and your partner, both physically and mentally. You find your common flow, get to know each other better and have fun together.
So prepare your arguments and convince your partner of the common yoga.
...and don't forget your LUVIYO!