Credit: Getty
Strong Women
Does the ultimate yoga pose exist? Yogis share their number one moves on the mat
By Kerry Law
3 years ago
2 min read
Is there one yoga pose to rule them all? When time is limited, which postures give you maximum benefit? Yogis reveal their top choices and discuss whether there is such a thing as ‘the ultimate asana’.
I once had a yoga teacher who finished every session with a shoulder stand, which she called “the queen of poses”. Another instructor declared the downward dog a daily must-do. While another believed the simple corpse pose was the most necessary yoga move. This got me thinking: does the ultimate yoga pose – one that delivers both physical and mental benefits at once – actually exist?
The number of individual yoga poses to choose from depends on which branch of yoga you follow. Traditional hatha yoga is based on 12 asanas, which, with variations, ends up totalling 84 postures. But contemporary practice incorporates even more – Light On Yoga by BKS Iyengar, published in 1966 and the first Western book on yoga, describes around 200 asanas. That’s a lot to consider when planning your ultimate sequence.
A weekly dose of expert-backed tips on everything from gut health to running.
By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy
Thank you!
You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.