How to Add Tetris to Your Yoga Routine
Become one with the Tetriminos in this Tetris yoga guide.
Yoga is a popular form of exercise that combines relaxation, meditation, and physical balance. What sets yoga apart from other methods of exercise are the variety of unique poses you can strike with your body. While practicing yoga, we began to wonder whether or not it was possible to strike Tetrimino poses. After all, several traditional yoga moves feel a lot like Tetrimino poses.
To help give you some examples and add a bit of fun to your workout, we put together a quick guide on how to add Tetris to your yoga routine. First, it’s important that you consult your doctor before starting a new exercise routine. With the doctor’s go-ahead, you’ll also want to remember to dedicate some time to stretching your muscles.
You might be thinking, “Isn’t yoga stretching?” Yes, but doing easy stretches can nevertheless help you avoid pulling something while trying more complex yoga moves. Furthermore, it will reduce any soreness you may have later on. Once your body is limber and ready to go, you can begin your unique Tetris yoga routine. To do this, you’ll want to run through “Tetrimino” poses while gradually building up the difficulty level.
Try starting off with something easy. For example, you can mimic the I-Tetrimino by striking the mountain pose. This involves standing straight with your feet together and your hands at your sides. If you’re a yoga pro, you can also work on your balance by performing a handstand, as this move also mimics the I-Tetrimino.
Next, sit yourself down on the floor and strike the bound ankle pose to create an inverted T-Tetrimino with your body. The bound ankle pose may feel familiar, especially if you learned various stretching moves in gym class at school.
Yoga is just like Tetris in this way. In order to become a Tetris pro, you need to practice often. With enough practice, the game becomes second nature to you. After you’ve finished your T-Tetrimino pose, it’s time to move on to the L and J-Tetriminos. Because these Tetriminos are so similar, you have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to choosing your next yoga pose.
For us, we picked the pose that places your legs flat up against the wall. We like this one because it’s comfortable, easy to approach, and helps stretch our back. Another pose you can try is the cobra pose. This one requires you to lay flat on your tummy, then lift up your upper torso (creating a sort of J-Tetrimino pose).
Again, we like this one because of its approachability, and because it helps stretch out our back. With those moves out of the way, let’s move on to something a bit harder. Before we get into the hardest poses (the S and Z-Tetriminos), let’s take a look at the O-Tetrimino. Interestingly enough, there are quite a few yoga poses that feel reminiscent of the O-Tetrimino. Which one you choose to do depends on your yoga chops.
For beginners, the bridge pose will probably be the easiest. Did you ever make your body into a bridge when you were young? Well, the bridge pose is exactly like that. You can either lay flat on your back and use your hands and feet to lift your body into a bridge pose, or you can stand straight and slowly bend backwards into the pose.
Either way, do what feels comfortable and don’t strain your body if this isn’t a move you’re capable of performing. Again, practice makes perfect. Start slow, then build up over time. Another interesting way to mimic the O-Tetrimino is with the camel pose. This one is similar to the bridge pose, but has you sitting up on your knees, then bending slowly backwards until your hands touch the soles of your feet.
Some find this pose easier, while others find it more difficult. If the bridge pose isn’t working out, you can try the camel pose and see if you like it better. Finally, the hardest Tetriminos to incorporate into yoga are the S and Z-Tetriminos. As you might have already guessed, they involve quite a bit of contortion.
One way to mimic the S and Z-Tetriminos is with the noose pose. To see the steps needed to accurately make this pose, there are several yoga websites that will help guide your posture. Or, if you’re looking to try something easier, the cow pose may be a bit more approachable. Now you know how to incorporate Tetris into your yoga routine.
Along with naming your poses after animals, you can also reference them as Tetriminos for fun as well. Keep in mind, you don’t have to be a yoga master to give it a try. All that matters is you practice, and listen to your body. Don’t push yourself if you’re uncomfortable.
Instead, do what you can and build up to what you can’t. The goal is to relax. For another way to calm your mind, read about how the Tetris Effect can help eliminate stress.
If all this talk of Tetriminos and twisting has you itching to play a few rounds of Tetris, we’ve got you covered. Click here to play Tetris online!
