The benefits of partner yoga poses

Got a guy? Great! Take him on a yoga date!

Turns out women aren’t the only ones who appreciate a solid savasana. More men than ever are jumping on the chatturanga train, and who can blame them? A room full of women in tight clothes, plus the chance to break a sweat? Sounds like a recipe straight from a man cave.

Don’t get me wrong, I would never condone practicing yoga strictly for superficial purposes, but I would encourage using it to strengthen your partnership.

“Partner yoga is the medium for building stronger communication and intimacy between human beings in any relationship,” explains Cain Carroll, co-author of Partner Yoga: Making Contact for Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Growth, in an article published in Psychology Today. “Postures and flow sequences are designed to bring communication into a tangible, physical form and help you witness the dynamic of relationships.”

Practicing yoga with your partner allows you to set aside your differences in order to work together toward a common goal, while improving your communication with one another, since you have to be attentive to each other’s bodies. Not only does partner yoga make you feel better and more confident in yourself, but it also makes you feel stronger and more connected as a couple, deepening your relationship.

“You rely on each other for the very creation of poses,” says Carroll. “Postures are dependent on two people showing up for one another and giving equal effort. It’s a great metaphor for the nut-and-bolt aspect of all relationships.”

Even if you don’t have a man, you can still use the power of partner yoga to strengthen other relationships in your life, such as family bonds and friendships.

“The benefit [of partner yoga] is simple… it brings family and friends together,” says certified yoga instructor and Instagram sensation Laura Kasperzak. “The happiness and laughter that comes from doing something like this is undeniable. It connects a couple, it connects friends, it connects a parent with their child. Regardless of the outcome of the pose, it can’t help but make you smile.”

Kasperzak, a wife and mother of two small children, says that she and her husband of nearly 10 years try to practice yoga together at least once a week, and doing so has improved their partnership.

“Practicing with my husband has definitely brought us closer together,” she said. “As in a lot of relationships, you go through lulls. We started playing around with acroyoga about a year and a half ago. It was definitely my idea and I had to do some serious convincing, but once I got him into it, it became something fun to do with each other. Today, it’s just a fun time and there is a lot of laughter.”

For more inspirational partner yoga poses, check out Laura’s Instagram page @laurasykora, and while you’re at it, go follow her good friends @yogabeyond, who she says inspire and motivate her and her husband to improve their practice.

More on yoga

How to speak yoga
12 Basic yoga poses for beginners
5 Total-body toning yoga poses