Easy 2 Person Yoga Poses for Beginners (Couples/BFF) & Extreme for Fun Challenges

How can you change your yoga practice and still feel closer to your best friend? Grab your BFF and hit the mat to perform these fun and challenging two-person yoga poses! Partner yoga is wonderful because it helps you integrate another person into your practice, building trust and intimacy while cracking lots of giggles.

No matter if both of you are new to yoga or you are advanced yogis separately, there are more than enough yoga poses for two that you both can perform. There are relaxing and easier two-person yoga poses that are perfect for warming up, and then we will go to the extreme, stronger asking levels for pairs and side-by-side strength and stability.

Benefits of 2-Person Yoga Poses

Before we go ahead and tackle the different poses, it is important to also look into some of the benefits that will be experienced when practicing yoga with your best friend:

• Deepens your friendship – Moving and breathing together encourages partners to tune into each other and strengthen your bond.
• Builds trust – Supporting each other’s body weight requires clear communication and trust between friends.
• Makes yoga fun – Practicing with your BFF brings a sense of playfulness and laughter to your yoga practice.
• Improves balance—Having four limbs on the mat instead of two creates a more stable foundation for exploring challenging balancing poses.
• Enhances stretching – Your partner can provide gentle assistance to help you sink deeper into poses and target tight areas.

A fun guaranteed relaxation day from any level of yoga practice will be practicing your poses together with your core friend. It will not only improve your body but strengthen your friendship. Just be careful, go slow, and be especially aware of one another, and try the more extreme poses only once you are both comfortable with the current one.

Considerations Before Practicing 2-Person Yoga Poses

Partner/buddy yoga is often a fulfilling and enjoyable activity, but there are a few critical things to be aware of before jumping to do so with your bestie:

• Consent is key – Make sure you and your partner are both fully on board with practicing together. Never pressure someone into partner poses if they seem hesitant or uncomfortable.
• Communicate openly – Discuss any injuries, limitations, or boundaries with your partner before you begin. Keep the lines of communication open throughout your practice and speak up if anything doesn’t feel right.
• Release judgment – Partner yoga is a time to let go of ego, competition, and comparison. Focus on your own experience and supporting each other, not on who is more flexible or stronger.
• Respect personal space – Be mindful of your partner’s personal bubble. Not everyone is comfortable with close physical contact, especially with someone they don’t know well. Take things slow and give your partner space when needed.

Easy 2-Person Yoga Poses for BFFs

If you are new to practicing yoga with your best friend, these easy two-person poses are a good way to help you ease into weight sharing and balancing.

1. Seated Meditation

Begin your practice by connecting with each other in a simple seated pose.

• Sit back-to-back with your BFF in a comfortable cross-legged position.
• Sit up tall, relax your shoulders, and bring your palms together at your chest.
• Close your eyes and start to sync up your breath with your partner’s.
• Stay for 10-20 breaths, feeling the support of your friend at your back.

2. Partner Forward Fold

Stretch out your hamstrings and lower back while building trust with your bestie.

• Stand back-to-back with your BFF, about a foot apart.
• Slowly hinge forward at your hips, keeping a slight bend in your knees.
• Reach your arms forward and hold your partner’s hands if you can.
• Let your head hang heavy and take 5-8 deep breaths together.
• To come out, slowly roll up to standing, pressing your backs together.

3. Double Tree Pose

Challenge your balance and coordination with this mirrored variation of Tree Pose.

• Stand side-by-side with your partner, with the outside edges of your feet touching.
• Reach your inside arms around each other’s waists for support.
• Shift your weight to your inside foot and lift your outside foot to your inner thigh or calf.
• If you feel steady, release your partner’s waist and bring your inside palms together at your chest.
• Hold for 5-8 breaths, then lower your lifted leg and switch sides.

Medium 2 Person Yoga Poses to Do with Your BFF

Ready to kick it up a notch? Try these intermediate partner poses that are guaranteed to help you strengthen your stability as a pair.

1. Double Boat Pose

Fire up your core and test your teamwork with this partner variation of Boat Pose.

• Sit facing your BFF with your knees bent and toes touching.
• Link arms or hold each other’s hands/wrists.
• Engage your core and lift your feet off the mat, straightening your legs to a 45-degree angle.
• Keep your chest lifted and use each other’s resistance to balance.
• Stay for 5-8 breaths, then lower down and give your buddy a high five!

2. Double Plank Pose

This powerful pose will build full-body strength and stability for both of you.

• Face your partner in plank position, wrists under shoulders and feet together.
• Lift your right hand and left foot to press your palm and sole firmly against your partner’s.
• Engage your core, keep your hips level, and hold for 3-5 breaths.
• Lower your hand and foot, then lift your left hand and right foot to switch sides.
• For an extra challenge, try lifting the opposite arm and leg (right hand and right foot).

3. Partner Warrior 2

Put a partner twist on this classic standing pose to build leg and hip strength.

• Stand facing your partner, about 4 feet apart.
• Step your outside leg back into Warrior 2 stance: front knee bent, back leg straight and strong.
• Reach your inside arm forward to grasp your partner’s inside arm.
• Press your inside palms together firmly and lean away from each other slightly.
• Gaze past your partner’s shoulder and hold for 5 breaths.
• Cartwheel your arms open and switch sides.

Hard 2-Person Yoga Poses for Extreme BFF Challenges

If you and your best friend are seeking a true challenge, try these extreme two-person poses that require a lot of strength, flexibility, trust, and focus! You must also remember to warm up properly!

1. Flying Bow Pose

This extreme backbend and hip opener takes Bow Pose to new heights.

• One partner starts lying face down on their mat.
• The other partner stands at their feet, facing their head.
• The partner on the floor reaches back to grab the standing partner’s ankles.
• Pressing into their shoulders, the standing partner lifts their feet one at a time into the lying partner’s hands.
• The lying partner kicks up into the standing partner’s hands, arching into a full backbend.
• The standing partner steps back slightly, holding the other’s feet, deepening the backbend.
• Hold for 3-5 breaths, then slowly release down.

2. AcroYoga Throne Pose

This impressive pose looks like a circus trick but is accessible with practice and trust.

• One partner lies on their back with legs extended straight up to the sky.
• The other partner stands facing them, with feet on either side of their hips.
• The standing partner reaches forward to grasp the lying partner’s hands.
• Engaging their core, the lying partner lifts the standing partner’s feet off the ground.
• The standing partner straightens their arms and legs, balancing on the soles of the lying partner’s feet.
• Hold for 3-5 breaths, then the lying partner slowly lowers their friend back to the ground.

3. Double Dancer’s Pose

This beautiful balancing backbend requires open communication and spotting.

• Stand facing your partner and hold each other’s left hands at shoulder height.
• Shift your weight to your left foot and lift your right foot behind you.
• Reach back with your right hand to grab your right foot or ankle.
• Slowly kick your right foot into your hand, lifting your leg higher and arching your spine.
• Use your partner’s hand for balance as you lean back into the full expression of the pose.
• Hold for 3-5 breaths, then slowly release your foot down and switch sides.

What If I Don’t Have a Partner?

Is no bestie available? No worries! Even if these postures are primarily made for two there is always more than one way to practice partner yoga alone:

• Use props – Grab a strap, block, or pillow to mimic the support and resistance a partner would provide in certain poses. For example, a strap can be a substitute for a partner’s hands in seated forward folds.
• Try the wall – The wall can act as a sturdy partner for poses like supported backbends, balancing poses, and inversions. Experiment with using the wall in new ways.
• Visualize a partner – Use your imagination! Visualize a supportive partner with you in spirit as you flow through your practice. Focus on creating a sense of connection and unity, even if you’re practicing alone.

Do not forget that the most meaningful relationship is with oneself. Practicing yoga without a partner is the best technique to enhance your self-acceptance and self-love.

When Partner Yoga Isn’t For You

As blissful and enjoyable as partner yoga may seem to be, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. That’s perfectly fine too! Give yourself permission to opt out if a partner poses, for example, creates feelings of anxiety, or discomfort or if it simply ‘isn’t your thing’.

Yoga is intrinsic to everyone especially as it is a practice that embraces each individual differently. Do not put yourself in a place where your emotional or physical safety could be in danger. If there is no easy way to leave the partner yoga class, it may be beneficial to look for a new teacher.

Listen to your gut, respect your limits, and always be yourself on and off the mat. Similarly, billions of practices around yoga do not require a partner beside you. Do what feels right to you!

Conclusion

Practicing yoga poses to one’s BFF can be quite an effective approach to take the physical practice to another level and come closer to each other than ever. Partner yoga includes everything from easily accessible seated poses to extreme balancing and explosive challenges that can be faced at any level or depth together.

But it should be understood that not all couples practice partner yoga, and that is fine. You matter, your feelings, and your boundaries and you should never feel compelled to do any poses individualistic or otherwise that you do not feel comfortable about. Yoga practice is about putting all your needs above all and most importantly, everyone’s needs.

But if however, you and your best friend do want to go on a partner yoga adventure together then do speak out. Embrace the wobbles, forget the fear, enjoy the freedom, and do not worry about laughing at yourself! Be it any shape of forming the pose together, trust is the most important thing that will lead to no trouble hand in hand performing any yoga poses together and making the yoga bond stronger.

And if you find that partner yoga is not for you, that’s okay too – solo practice is also powerful and valid. Regardless of whether you are grooving with your BFF, or whether you’re on your own, the most important thing is to be yourself and enjoy your own personal yoga experiences.

Namaste!