If you know anything about yoga at all, you will probably be familiar with the names of a few of the yoga poses. For some people, poses such as the downward facing dog and the warrior pose are almost synonymous with yoga. This is a look at a few of the more popular yoga poses.

The Corpse-this pose is often practiced at the end of a yoga session, once the body has been stimulated through other poses. The pose is deceptively simple and it looks very much like napping on ones back. The focus of this pose is not the posture as much as it is conscious relaxation. To do the Corpse (also known as the Sponge or by the Sanskrit work Tadasana), lie down on your back with your hands, palms up, at your sides. Take deep and relaxing breathes and begin by focusing on one part of your body. You might start with your hands, allowing them to relax into the ground and melt into the floor. Focus on different parts of your body until you are completely relaxed and can no longer feel the different body parts. Remain in the position, taking relaxing breathes for another five minutes or so.

Dog and Cat-these poses are used to loosen the neck and increase the flexibility of the spine. Start out in the dog position, which is on your hands and knees with your legs and arms about shoulder distance apart. Take deep breathes in that position and then, as you inhale, tilt your pelvis upward, dropping your stomach towards the floor. As you arch your back inward, lift your chin upward and stretch your neck while you point your chin towards the sky. Move back and forth between the Dog and the Cat positions a few times.

Downward Facing Dog-this pose is used to build strength, flexibility, and awareness.  To do the stretch, start on your hands and knees with your legs and arms about shoulder distance apart. Make sure that your hands are facing straight ahead, with your elbows rolled slightly in.  Take a few easy breaths in this position and then get ready to move into the downward position.  Roll onto the balls of your feet and then as you exhale, straighten your legs and push upward with your arms.  You should now have your feet flat on the floor and be bent at the waist, your arms should extend out, above your head, with your palms on the floor.  If you area beginner, you might find that you need to bend your knees to achieve the position.  That's fine.  Take a few breaths in that position and return to the Dog position.

The Warrior-this pose might be one of the most popular poses in yoga.  It is used to strengthen the entire body while improving concentration and self-awareness.  To do the warrior, you start by standing with your feet together and your arms out a little from your sides (this is known as the Mountain).  From the Mountain pose, jump your feet out to the sides at the same time as you sweep your arms straight out to your sides.  Your feet should now be directly under your wrists and you should have your body in a nice, tight line.  Focus on maintaining that line as you twist one foot to point out, away from your body.  Inhale as you bend the knee of the foot that is now pointing out.  Your body should still be pointing forward.  The final movement is to lift your spine and turn your head in the direction that your bent knee is facing.  Hold this pose while you take a few breathes and then reverse the movements, returning to the Mountain pose.