Couples Yoga: Building Trust and Intimacy
Let the fun begin! Whether you’re a yogi or non-yogi, we’re all looking for new and fun ways to become more intimate and trustworthy with our partners. But what’s a good way to do that? We are all so busy that it can be hard to jam something new into our schedules.
What if you didn’t have to fit something new in at all? What if you just had to change up something that you likely do already, beyond self-care and your beauty routine?
Working out with your partner is always a good way to build intimacy and trust, while ensuring that you are both working on yourselves. Enter couples yoga. Even if you haven’t tried yoga before, this can be something new and exciting to try with your partner that can build trust, boost intimacy, and take your relationship to the next level.
Ready to explore some downward dog with us? Let’s see what yoga might be able to do for you and your relationship in just a few hours a week!
How Can Couples Yoga Build Trust?
Couples yoga allows the two of you to become one! Yoga can build trust by helping you to understand your partner’s body better. Even more, it helps you to form a deep bond, so you can reach a new level of understanding with each other. Sometimes, that understanding can even lead to empathy and deeper love. Why?
- Couples yoga allows for non-verbal communication with each other.
- You will be able to understand the wants and needs of your partner while also acknowledging limitations.
- Your partner will trust you to support them and work with you.
- You may have to slow down for each other.
- Each partner will get a chance to be the strong one or lead based on the different poses.
- You will both fail and help each other get back up.
- You will be vulnerable with each other as you acknowledge weaker parts of your body.
When you participate in couples yoga, you are building trust in a way that few people can. It is a unique and truly bonding experience.
How Can Couples Yoga Build Intimacy?
Intimacy will be up front and center in every session! Yoga can build intimacy because it can help to reduce your own stress, anxiety, and depression and that of your partner. By partaking in couples yoga, you ensure that the two of you are taking care of your mental and emotional health, which can help you be more open and intimate with each other.
This intimacy can help you to talk about your issues without getting into an argument, feeling resentful, or going into a shell in the moment. You will be more connected to your feelings and harbor less negativity.
Think about it -- even just by touching each other, you are building intimacy. The feeling of your partner’s physical touch can help calm you down. Touching can help alleviate some of the neural and biochemical stressors in your body that prevent you from feeling connected to your partner.
Some of The Best Poses To Try with Your Partner
So, where do you start? You’ve probably seen a ton of the different poses that you can do by yourself for yoga, but what are the best couples yoga poses that build trust and intimacy with your partner? That answer will vary based on the couple.
If one person in the couple has more experience, is larger (or smaller), more flexible, significantly taller (or shorter), or has different physical needs, not every pose will work, so you will have to modify for your body types.
The key is to find the poses that will work best for you. Even so, here are some of the best ones to try!
Forward Fold
This is one of the easier moves, so it is perfect for those who don’t quite feel up to full-blown yoga yet:
- Stand with your backs facing each other and give each other a few inches of room.
- Raise your arms towards the ceiling on your inhale, and move into a forward fold when you exhale. This means you are bending at your hips.
- Bring your chest towards your legs and look between them to see your partner.
- Extend your arms towards each other and see how much of your arms you can grab. Some people will be able to hold each other’s shoulders.
- Stay in this position until you feel ready to let go.
- Come back up slowly in the same way.
Seated Side Bend
For this move, you don’t have to be super flexible, but you will have to lean against each other:
- Sit cross-legged and go back-to-back with your partner.
- Make your arms parallel to the ground and then put them together with your partner. You should be interlocking hands.
- Together, lean to one side and touch the ground. Ensure that you both stay tall and move slowly.
- Sit up straight and then move to the other side.
Twists Facing Each Other
This next one allows for some eye contact.
- Sit together on the ground, facing each other.
- Cross your legs and scoot forward until your knees are touching.
- Extend your right hand towards their right waistline.
- Stretch your left hand behind you, reaching towards your right waist.
- Hold hands if you can.
- Take turns deepening the stretch by pulling on each other’s hands behind their back.
- Keep your upper body straight and try to deepen the stretch.
- Do the reverse position.
Boat Pose
The next one keeps you on the floor as well.
- Stay sitting and bend your knees, putting your feet on the floor. Touch toes with your partner.
- Extend your hands towards each other and take hold of their wrist.
- Bring the soles of your feet together and try to raise your feet upward into a V-shape.
- Hold this position for a few breaths and then slowly bring your legs back down.
Open Shoulder Pose
This one will have you standing:
- Stand about an arm’s length away from each other, and place your hands on each other’s shoulders.
- Keeping your legs and arms comfortably straight, start taking small steps backwards and away from each other.
- Keep walking until your top half is parallel with the ground.
- Drop your chests together, keeping your hands on each other’s shoulders.
- Slowly start standing, and then repeat the movement and go down again (see if you can go lower).
Double Camel
This is a more intermediate level pose, but it can be helpful to build intimacy and trust:
- Start on your knees with your backs facing each other.
- Slot your feet together by putting your left foot in between the feet of your partner.
- Engage your core and place your hands on your lower back. Slowly enter into a backbend.
- You will end up resting your head on your partner’s shoulders.
- If you feel comfortable, deepen the stretch, and push your hips forward. Allow your arms to dangle if you can.
These are just a few of the many yoga poses that you can try with a partner. Really, just doing regular yoga together and helping to ensure that everyone is using the right form can be enough to strengthen your relationship. You two may even want to sign up for a class!
Exercise is very important for a happy life -- including a happy relationship and a healthy you!
In Conclusion: Yoga Can Help Relationships Everywhere!
When it comes to building trust and raising the intimacy bar, couples yoga can help strengthen your relationship in so many different ways.
You may already be taking care of yourself, taking your vitamins, working out, and maybe even indulging in some self-care routines (like masks and moisturizers), but how much better does it feel to also take care of each other?
Stepping out of your comfort zone is healthy, so give couples yoga a whirl, and you’ll start to see your partner in a whole new light. From feeling more connected to just taking some time to help each other with self-care, yoga will surely help your relationship in more ways than one.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/yoga/art-20044733
https://www.fitnesseducation.edu.au/blog/health/how-exercise-makes-you-happy/