There are many different types of yoga and it can seem quite confusing to know where to start. A good way to begin to narrow it down is to ask yourself what you are looking to get from yoga. Is it fitness, relaxation, stretching, or the spiritual side of Yoga? Do you like a challenging workout, do you like to build up a sweat or are you looking to calm your overactive mind?
Also take into consideration your existing fitness levels and how flexible you already feel. Most people due to sedentary lifestyles and occupations tend to be short in the back of the legs, closed in the front body and tight around the shoulders and neck.
Don’t let this put you off practicing Yoga as this is exactly what beginners Yoga is designed to help you with.
Or you might be at the other end of the spectrum and be hyper mobile and very flexible in which case it helps to begin your introduction into yoga with a teacher who has the knowledge of how to best prevent injury and specific practices to strengthen your muscles so that your joints are protected in the long run.
Beginners Hatha Yoga is a great place to start as it focuses on the gentler physical side of Yoga called the Asanas, so this is postures and breath.
I really enjoy teaching beginners yoga as I like to share my passion for yoga combined with my knowledge of Bodywork so that beginners can have a good foundation as a basis for their practice, mixing in postural and breathing reeducation with the yoga and keeping classes small for a closer sense of care and a non dogmatic approach that encourages exploration of what feels right for your body.
Hatha Yoga for beginners offers a gentle exploration of the mind body connection, it is slower paced and relaxed giving time to get the details understood and to give you an understanding of how the postures work for your body individually rather than uniformly forcing yourself into general one size fits all yoga.
What happens to your body when you start doing yoga?
Even after your first class you will feel a sense of accomplishment and more connected to the physical aspect of yourself. Yoga is not a competition and that includes with yourself, non violence is another core principle of yoga and that means not judging and being hard on yourself too.
One hour a week will start to make a difference, maybe initially you might feel a little sore in areas of your body that you don’t normally use or stretch much, this will soon pass as your fitness levels increase along with your self awareness and increased balance, not just in your physical body but in your emotional self too.
After a month of consistent practice what you do in your yoga class will start to cross over into your life outside, you will learn to use your breath to manage your emotions, to ease anxiety or stress, you will feel your emotions start to shift becoming more positive and even more patient as you’ve learnt to be more compassionate and patient with yourself.
Physically you can expect to have a stronger core, better balance, better digestion and sleep, and due to increased circulation healthier skin.
Its best not to eat a heavy meal before you practice, and afterwards its a good idea to drink some water. I encourage you to listen to your body and most of all enjoy it. Leave class having rested your mind, released tension, stretched, breathed deeply and released a good dose of endorphins and dopamine. All of which means you’ll leave feeling uplifted.