Yoga for beginners: how to create a home yoga practice and not get discouraged at the beginning?
Yoga for beginners: how to create a home yoga practice and not get discouraged at the beginning?
In this text, we'll give you some tips on how to build a home yoga practice and not give up on your way to splits or other eye-catching asanas (they are not so important after all).
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Yoga for beginners is often advice on how to start from 15 minutes a day, how to buy a new yoga mat , learn how to greet the Sun and dream that one day we will be able to put on our Instagram the ideal position of the One-Legged Pigeon King .
But is that really the point?
Is this what our beginnings with yoga must look like?
In this text, we'll give you some tips on how to build a home yoga practice and not give up on your way to splits or other eye-catching asanas (they are not so important after all).
Yoga for beginner yogis: some tips
If the practice is to bring specific results, you must stick to certain guidelines / principles. If we do everything as we want, we will not achieve any effects or the opposite of what was intended. Remember these tips to get the most out of your practice:
1. Don't compare yourself with others (especially with the teacher).
We strive for certain shapes of positions, but taking asanas exactly as the teacher demonstrates is often not possible for physiological reasons. Everyone has a different body build.
yoga for beginners
2. Eat last (light) meal 2 hours before practice. You can eat a heavy meal 4 hours before the practice.
3. Asana is for you, not you for asana.
You do positions as much as your body allows.
You don't force yourself into position. You can modify asanas if you need them.
One of the yoga principles is ahimsa , meaning don't hurt.
It also refers to how we treat our body and whether by accident we do not push it too much to exceed the limits for which it is not ready.
"Asana should be stable and comfortable,"
Patanjali
Patanjali talked about two qualities of asanas: sthira (stability) and sukha (ease).
Let's remember when we want to put the heels on the ground in the Malasana position , while they will clearly ask for the rolled up mat.
Every day we experience enough sense of competition - we do not compete with ourselves.
wake up yogi asanas for beginners
4. Exercise regularly and stick to this rule (even if it's 10 minutes, do it)
In this way we develop a habit.
Imagine (or maybe you don't have to imagine it ...) that your habit right after waking up is morning coffee.
Black or with sugar, with foam, in a favorite cup.
The pleasure of raising this cup to your mouth means that just thinking about the fact that you will drink coffee in the morning breaks up from bed with the first alarm clock.
In his book "Strength of habit" Charles Duhig writes that we can only transform a bad habit into another, using the already known mechanism, which is based on a three-stage loop: we have a hint which is a trigger, telling the brain which habit to choose (in short: the brain does not think, switches to automatic mode); then there is the habit - he can have a different character - physical, mental, emotional; and finally there is a reward that makes it easy to remember a given loop as valuable. Loop drives thirst.
We are not saying that drinking cappuccino sprinkled with cinnamon is a bad habit ...
But imagine that the 10 minutes you spend on drinking coffee can be used for yoga practice.
Swap one habit with another and trigger the same reaction to pleasure in the brain.
There is no easier way to start doing yoga!
yoga for beginners
5. Start with the intention
Before we begin physical practice, it is worth expressing your intention.
This will help set the tone of the practice and make you focus more on your interior. It can be anything: from the intention of world peace to the intention of greater patience for your children.
6. Don't leave your questions and doubts unanswered (even if you think your question may be stupid.
You need to find an answer to them, otherwise you do not grow, do not develop, and your practice stands still or you repeat the same error over and over again, which you are afraid to ask.
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7. No distractions
Turn off the phone (even vibrations, so that during the practice there would be no temptation to reach for the phone), radio, TV.
yoga for beginners
8. Do not avoid discomfort!
Although you often come across information that you should do what you feel ... This is not the complete picture of yoga.
Asanas or other yoga practices that we avoid also carry a valuable lesson that we need to do, after all, there is a reason why we avoid them.
9. Avoid pain.
Let go if something brings obvious pain (stinging, rushing, blunt, sharp, burning, pulsating).
Going back to point 7, learn to distinguish pain from discomfort, which is separated by a fairly fluid border.
If you do not avoid working in asanas and discomfort, then over time the pain limit will shift and you will find yourself in a situation where initially difficult positions will become easy and accessible
10. Get rid of all expectations
When we focus on the result, we forget to be present and attentive. We should not try to control and focus on the results of our practice, but on what is here and now.
11. Always exercise in a comfortable yoga outfit
One that does not restrict movement and adheres to the body (so that clothes do not get tangled under the feet and do not wrap around the body, blocking freedom of movement).
Exercise on a non-slip mat to avoid injury. If you do not have such a yoga mat , a rug is enough, but the comfort of exercise will be much worse than on a dedicated yoga mat.
12. If you need to use the toilet during exercise - do it and do not wait
You can feel resistance or feel uncomfortable during full-time classes at a yoga school.
Just remember not to treat your toilet visit as an escape from a more difficult position or one you don't like (if you're doing an asymmetrical asana, finish the exercise and rush). If you exercise at home you lose nothing - you can press the pause and continue after returning.
yoga for beginners
13. If you are a woman and you have a period - skip yoga practice , especially ashtanga
Replace it with meditation or a gentle flow. No twists or asanas that activate the abdomen.
14. If you are practicing ashtanga yoga , give up the practice on the new moon and full moon
During the full moon, there is an increase in the level of energy and fluids in our body, so during this period, intensive yoga practices (which Ashtanga is without doubt) are not recommended.
On the other hand, on the new moon days, the opposite happens, and the loss of water in the body can cause dry joints.
16. Remember to breathe
After all, it is us who distribute prana, or life energy, around our body.
It is he who makes us enter more difficult positions for us.
And he is the most important component of the practice. When we direct our consciousness to breath, we will notice that ... life is easier.
This is because we activate the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for rest, relaxation and peace.
Living in constant stress, we breathe shallowly, giving our body a sign that something is wrong, that we are in danger. In return, the body releases excess cortisol and we are in a constant state of struggle and escape.
When we breathe deeply, we signal that everything is fine (even while remaining in the position of Chaturang Dandasana !)
Therefore: let's breathe.
17. Never finish yoga practice without relaxation and Savasana
This will help you consolidate your practice and may help you remember that in everyday life, every major effort should be restored by rest.
Regardless of your age, physical condition and experience (or lack of it) on the mat ... We invite you on a journey of discovery in the world of Yoga and your own body.
