What Your Favorite Yoga Pose Says About You

Since becoming a yoga teacher, I have noticed that there are certain poses teachers gravitate towards when teaching and will teach them time and time again. I have also picked up on the poses people love to get into (and choose to skip entirely) and how they’ll spend a little extra time in a certain pose in class just so they could play around with the expression of it.

The poses people show enjoyment in teaching or practicing in class say a lot about them I feel. Almost like a secret knowing of how they exist in the world or how they choose to move through life. This is all just silly little observations but it’s fun to see the life of a pose expressed through certain characteristics.

Let’s see what your favorite yoga pose says about you! If we didn’t cover your favorite pose, leave us a comment and let us know what it is along with why it’s your favorite pose and what you think it says about you.

Warrior 1

A consistent practitioner. You like what you like and there’s no changing it. You enjoy the slight challenge but also the integrity of the pose being a staple in Surya Namaskar B and in many varieties of yoga classes. If you love Warrior 1, you probably have waken up to get your workout in at the same time everyday, doing the same motions that feel good in your body. Warrior 1 being your favorite yoga pose says you aren’t bored by the basics and have the stretch in your quads and hamstrings to make the pose happen, so it feels good in your body. You’ve probably approached life mostly level-headed, with consistent tenacity and the fortitude to keep at the things you love but also things you consider ‘work’. People who love Warrior 1 as their favorite yoga pose are dependable and hard-working. They know they’ll get the same benefit from doing the thing, every single time.

Fun ways to practice Warrior 1:

• Place a rolled up blanket behind your back foot
• Practice Warrior 1 with your front knee facing a wall with a block lodged between your knee and the wall
• Take a yoga chair and set up your Warrior 1 over the chair, like this:

Compass Pose

You loooove variety. You enjoy a challenge, just like the Warrior 1 yogis, but you want to add a bit of fun in there! (That’s not to say Warrior 1 isn’t fun). Compass pose is a pose of flexibility and openness of the side body. You might enjoy stretching your body physically and enjoy the mental stimulation of putting all the actions together to get into the full expression of the pose. You are probably creative, eager, playful and clever. You can piece all the motions together to prep yourself for this pose and you have a dang good time once you’re in it! Compass pose is a pose that requires a lot of warm-up to different parts of the body, so preparing a well-rounded class to build towards it is key.

Fun ways to practice Compass pose:

• Take yourself to a wall and lift up the leg facing the wall with your opposite arm extended up & over, reaching toward the lifted leg against the wall
• Sit on the ground and use a strap around the foot of your lifted leg then extend your opposite arm up & over, grabbing the strap hooked around your foot
• Just go for it, bestie! It’s Kate Lombardo’s favorite pose, as you can see:

Handstand

Ohhhhhhh boy, do you crave adventure?! Handstand is for thrill-seekers and risk-takers alike. They are usually experienced yogis, gymnasts or acrobats. They appreciate the more vigorous and fast-paced parts of a yoga class and they are always, ALWAYS up for the challenge. If you’re favorite pose is Handstand, you probably craaaave going upside down and love to play with your strength and abilities. You find it fun. Handstand can be extremely challenging but once you come to know your own body well enough and have stayed consistent in practicing it, it can feel like you’re floating. A popular inversion, Handstand has all the benefits to get your satisfaction of a challenge with the blissful, peace-of-mind that comes afterward. Cheers to you, Handstand yogi!

Fun ways to practice Handstand:

• Face the wall, set yourself up about one palm print away from the wall and kick your feet up at the wall
• Lie on the ground and place a block underneath your sacrum and your shoulderblades then practice reaching your arms and legs out long so they both lift up off the ground and your back-body presses into the blocks
• L-shape Handstand (often harder than actual Handstand)
• Practice with a bestie, like this:

Wheel Pose

You’re ambitious. You loooove trying something new and you’ll convince your fellow yogis to try it, too! Wheel pose is for those who are ambitious and up for anything. It’s a pose of integrity and resilience and once practiced can ignite a sort of vibrancy in someone. The pose helps people feel invigorated, which is what yogis seek when they are looking for something new. You’re probably fun, exuberant and encouraging. Your excitement for life inspires others to take the leap into something new! You are probably very curious yourself and love the rush of feeling like you accomplished a ‘new thing’. Try that wheel! Get your friend to try a wheel! We can all be doing wheels!!!

Fun ways to try Wheel pose:

• Have a bolster or two folded blankets beneath you so you’re lifting up from a higher position
• Place two blocks at the wall and use them for extra height when lifting up
• Loop a strap around the middle of your thighs

Child’s Pose

You prefer playing it safe and tuning inward and that, my friends, is the whole point of yoga!!! You’re not afraid to listen to your body for you know it holds the very specific wisdom you seek. Child’s pose is such an important and substantial pose — allowing the hip creases to get a nice, deep stretch, the arms to extend out long (at least how we teach it at YogaRenew), the abdomen is soft and forehead rests against the mat, gently. This is one of those poses where, if it’s your favorite, it probably means even though there’s an instructor guiding the class, you are following the teacher in your heart and are regularly nourishing yourself in ways you know best. Child’s pose teaches us all that we were all once a child, and sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves is tap into that inner child and let them curl up into a little ball on the floor!

Fun ways to practice Child’s pose:

• Place blocks under the palms of the hands
• Place a bolster underneath the abdomen
• Place a blanket (or stacks of blankets) underneath the seat
• Reach your arms back behind you
• Stretch from side to side (Child’s Pose Piano)
• Get suuuuper comfy with blankets AND bolsters, (and maybe even a dreamy assist) like so:

Pigeon Pose

If Pigeon pose is your favorite yoga pose, you’re probably someone who feels things fully. You appreciate the opportunity to slow down, breathe deeply, and sit with whatever is coming up. You know that growth doesn’t always happen in the flashy moments—it often happens when you’re quietly holding space for yourself. Pigeon Pose lovers tend to be introspective, compassionate, and emotionally intelligent. You may cry during Savasana and honestly? We love that for you. You aren’t afraid of vulnerability, even when it feels uncomfortable. In fact, you know that’s usually where the good stuff lives.

Fun ways to practice Pigeon pose:

• Place a block under the seat of the leg that’s bent
• Place a blanket under back foot
• Lower your abdomen down onto a block
• Set yourself up with allllll the props: Blankets under your seat and back foot, a block under your torso, a block for your forehead, blankets supporting your arms, etc.
• Or… another bestie pose: 😉

Lotus Pose

Oh baby. It’s the grand finale. The pose of all poses — Padmasana! If this is your favorite pose, you LOVE to shine!!! You’ve worked hard and you want to see something for it. While it takes great dedication and perseverance to get into Lotus pose, there’s also a quiet stillness that accompanies the great fortitude it took to get there. And while you want to show it off, you also find great comfort in its therapeutic effects. Padmasana lovers are willing to put in the work, even when the payoff isn’t immediate. You understand that mastery takes time, whether that’s in yoga or in other facets of your life. There may be a little performer in you. Not in an attention-seeking way, but in a “Wow, I really did the thing!” kind of way. You enjoy celebrating accomplishments and encouraging others to do the same. You’ve learned that confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you build through practice, consistency, and showing up for yourself again and again.

That’s all we have (for now)… We’ll cover more fun yoga poses in the weeks to come, so stay tuned!