Yoga for Your Wedding Day (With Poses for the Officiant!)

Beginner yoga poses to cultivate connection and love for a low-stress wedding day

 

It's the happiest day of your life, so why are you so stressed that your shoulders are up around your ears? 

 

It’s time for a simple wedding day yoga flow! Yoga on the wedding day will help you de-stress and connect with yourself and your sweetheart.

 

Below we’ve gathered are our top 10 yoga poses to do on your wedding day. 

These poses can also help with wedding prep: start doing these simple yoga poses a few weeks or months before the ceremony to help stay centered, get fit, and fall deeper in love as your wedding date approaches! 

 

For a mindful wedding day, ask your wedding party to join you for a short yoga flow that includes these poses before the wedding ceremony. This is a great way to start your wedding day, or at any time during a long wedding weekend, summer camp wedding, or vacation wedding. 

 

Related: Mindful Wedding Ceremony with Buddhist Reading & 4 Love Mantras

 

Pro Tip: Yoga Breathing Techniques

 

Remember, you don’t have to get into any of the postures described below to practice helpful yoga breathing. If you’re in a public place and can’t try these poses, try these breathing exercises instead:

 

Try Ujjayi breathing or ‘ocean breath’ by breathing in and out through your nose while slightly tightening your throat (to create a soft snoring sound that mimics the rhythm of ocean waves). Try Bhramari breathing or ‘humming bee breath’ by breathing in and out through your nose while making a humming sound on the exhale. Try to breathe in and out slowly for 5 counts on both the inhale and exhale, by counting to 5 for each (called the ‘same-breath’ Sama Vritti breathing technique).

 

 

Mindful weddings are trending! Add yoga breathing techniques and simple yoga poses to your wedding day for a meaningful, mindful, and memorable celebration that will leave you feeling centered and more in love than ever. (Photo: ALotOfPeople / iStock)

 

 

10 Beginner Yoga Poses for Love, Connection and Calming: Yoga for Your Wedding Day

 

 

• Table Top Pose to Thread the Needle Pose (Bharmanasana to Urdhva Mukha Pasasana)

 

Flowing between these two simple poses is a great way to balance your throat, heart, and solar plexus chakras, while opening the heart and gently stretching and loosening your arms, shoulders, upper back, spine, lower back, and core muscles (including the ever-important psoas). Adding a few moments in revolved table top pose in between these two postures can activate the heart and root chakras. 

 

They’re excellent stress reducers, too, helping us slow down, breathe easier, and stay present in the current moment. The gentle twists of revolved table top pose and thread the needle pose can settle the heart and stomach. Add a variation with extended table top pose (one arm and one leg out) to balance the sacral and root chakras and promote emotional balance and a sense of choice and autonomy.

 

 

Your wedding is sure to be filled with love and laughter, but it might also come with a few unexpected mishaps. A simple yoga flow the morning-of to get grounded for what's to come, and calming yoga breathing techniques throughout the day to stay centered, can help you have a joyful time no matter what the day puts in your path. (Left: RicardoImagen ; Right: fizkes / both via iStock)

 

 

• Cobra Pose to Puppy Pose (Bhujangasana to Uttana Shishosana)

 

A simple flow from cobra to puppy pose will gently open the heart and hips, while stretching the arms, back, abdomen, hands, and feet – all places that stress and fear tend to hide out! 

 

Cobra pose stimulates several chakras, including the throat chakra (to help you communicate and speak clearly), the heart chakra (for feelings of love and connection), the solar plexus chakra (for a quick boost in energy and optimism), the sacral chakra (for emotional balance and a little sensual spice), and the root chakra (to help you feel safe, secure, and ready). Moving into puppy pose opens the heart chakra wide for a burst of joy, love, and deep connection. 

 

These poses are also very beginner-friendly. Cobra pose can be easily modified if you have any mobility issues or tightness, or if you’re pregnant on the wedding day. Seated cobra is a great variation for wheelchair users or marriers who want a chair yoga routine, and can even be done in a car on the way to the venue! 

 

Related: Poetic Wedding Ceremony Script with Readings from Rumi & Kahlil Gibran

 

 

A simple wedding day yoga flow that moves from cobra pose to puppy pose can boost your mood, cultivate feelings of joy and playfulness, and activate the throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral, and root chakras. Practice these poses with your partner, members of your wedding party, wedding guests, or on your own for grounding and stress relief before teh ceremony. (Left: DaniloAndjus ; Right: Koldunov / both via iStock)

 

 

• Mountain Pose (Tadasana) to Extended Mountain Pose 

 

This foundational pose is simple and surprisingly healing. Mountain pose involves tiny isometric contractions that align the body and mind, bringing you into a deeper awareness of your posture and the present moment. (It’s also an easy pose to do no matter what you’re wearing, which is why we love it as a last minute stretch for couples or the wedding officiant before you walk down the aisle). 

 

Mountain pose gently stretches the toes and feet, makes space for the spine, gently rotates and stabilizes the hips, and stacks the shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles to create a calm flow of energy from root to crown.

 

Raising your arms above your head into an extended mountain pose draws any lingering anxiety up and out of the body, opens the chest and heart, and stimulates the root chakra and heart chakra to help you feel happy, safe, and deeper in love.

 

For the Wedding Officiant: Mountain pose is well-loved by public speakers as a grounding pose. If you’re officiating your first wedding or are having some pre-ceremony jitters, this is the pose for you! Let this simple posture slow you down, steady your nerves, and center you before you step on ‘stage.’ 

 

Related: Breathe in, Breathe Out: Calming Brides' and Grooms' Nerves

 

 

Have time to get outside before the wedding? Perfect! But you can practice a simple yoga flow indoors at home, too. Find a quiet moment before you leave for the ceremony, or bring your mat with you to the venue! Most of the poses on this list can be done anywhere, anytime, even without a man or much room to stretch. (Photo Left: Tirso Lecointere ; Right: LumiNola / iStock)

 

 

• Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana)

 

You can enter Goddess Pose from Mountain or Extended Mountain Pose as part of a short wedding yoga flow, or just whip it out anytime you need to feel powerful, fierce, and unapologetically you on the wedding day. 

 

This pose helps people of any gender connect with their energetic center, to help you activate your inner fire and strength. Goddess Pose promotes confidence, connects you with the feminine energy around you, and can relieve big waves of emotional tension and frustration in a healthy way. 

 

For the Wedding Officiant: If nothing is going right today and you’re up to your elbows in frustration or anxiety, this is the pose for you! This pose will send that unhelpful energy out and away like escaping heat, while opening up your heart, sacral, and root chakras to give you a grounded and confident emotional ‘reset’ before you step up front to start the wedding ceremony.

 

 

Goddess pose provides many variations, making it easier to find a version of this posture that will work for you, such as placing your heels up or down, keeping arms out to the side, or pressing your hands together in front of your heart. (Photo: Amanda Caroline da Silva / iStock)

 

 

• Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana) or Warrior One (Virabhadrasana)

 

These two postures are very similar, but with differences in the placement of your back foot: your foot is rotated out about 45 degrees in Warrior 1, while you’ll be up on your toes (heel up) with your calf contracted in the high lunge of Crescent Lunge. (Crescent Lunge is a better choice if you have sciatica or hip issues, just be wary of your pelvic tilt; Warrior 1 will be easier if you struggle more with balance.)

 

Both of these postures are ideal for awakening the sacral chakra to welcome in deep pleasure and joy, and opening the chest and sides to help you take big deep breaths full of fresh air and peaceful energy! 

 

A low lunge variation of Crescent Pose can open tight hips and release pent up worry or fear, activate the heart chakra to increase connection, and draw in a sense of strength and grounding before you walk down the aisle. 

 

 

Destination wedding yoga? YES PLEASE! One of the many wonderful things about a yoga practice is that you can take it anywhere with you -- this stress-reducing activity doesn't take up any room in your suitcase! Try this routine with a view of your destination to create a once-in-a-lifetime memory together. (Photo left: AscentXmedia ; Right: Inside Creative House / iStock)

 

 

• Upward Salute Side Bend (Parsva Urdhva Hastasana)

 

This simple wedding day yoga pose is perfect if you’re already dressed and are feeling pressed before your walk down the aisle. The gentle side bend in this posture can help relieve anxiety, wake up the body and mind for an energy boost, and create space in the chest and lungs for some calming deep breaths.

 

Upward Salute Side Bend is a gentle variation of mountain pose that can be further modified to accomodate limitations with mobility or flexibility. It stretches the entire body at one time without taking up too much space, for quick relief during a busy day around people. This posture also opens the heart chakra, welcoming in love, joy, connection, and feelings of security and emotional well-being on your wedding day. 

 

 

Side bends are a simple stretch to relieve stress anytime, anywhere!  On the wedding day, yoga can help keep you centered before you leave for the venue, right before you walk down the aisle, or even as part of a mindful wedding ceremony with guests. Take a moment to stretch, ground, energize, connect, and breathe. (Photo: MangoStar_Studio / iStock)

 

 

Get creative! Add your favorite yoga poses to this flow, or include simple meditation techniques

 

Use these poses as a starting place! If you don't see your favorites listed above, or want a flow that's more challenging, go for it. Acroyoga and couples yoga poses offer many variations that help you get closer to your partner -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And any yoga pose will help you focus on that important breath-body connection, to keep you in the present and connected to the people you love.

 

Read the articles below for advice on adding simple meditation techniques to your wedding day. These tips are helpful for wedding officiants, wedding ministers, and couples! 

 

• Align Your Chakras for Wedding Season (and Beyond)
   
• Meditation for Ministers: What is Grounding?
   
• Meditation for Ministers: AMM’s Favorite Pink Noise Playlists on Spotify
   

 

Get creative! Yoga poses can be practiced solo, side by side, or together, to bring you closer and deepen your connection on the wedding day. (Photo: Serafima / iStock)

 

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Ask a Friend to Get Ordained Online to Officiate Your Wedding with help from AMM!

 

As you can see from the article above, yoga is an amazing way to stay calm and grounded on the wedding day, but there's another special way to keep yourself connected to loved ones during the celebration : Ask a loved one to get ordained online to perform your wedding! 

 

Friends make wonderful wedding officiants. They can help you create a personalized, fun, and mindful wedding ceremony that captures your unique sense of humor, love story, faith, and family.

 

The first step for a friend-officiant is to get ordained online, which they can do right now for free with AMM by clicking the link below. Then check the officiant requirements in your state to see if any paperwork needs to be filed with the county clerk before the ceremony. 

 

• Get ordained online with AMM here
• See Officiant Requirements in your state
   

Friend-officiants can download a sample wedding ceremony script PDF from the AMM Script Library, and personalize it so that it sounds just the way you want it to.  AMM also offers free online officiant training resources, to ensure friend-officiants have the tools they need to do a fantastic job!

 

• Wedding Ceremony Script Library
• Wedding Officiant Training 

 

 

Who should I ask to officiate my wedding? Your 'friend-officiant' might be a beloved college roommate or professor, your favorite neighborhood, a close sibling or friend, or even a parent!  

 

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