Yoga Advise for Beginners
For general information about Hatha Yoga click HERE
Advice for those new to Yoga
Yoga is for everyone. It really doesn't matter if you are not flexible, strong, skinny, healthy or fit, this can come later.
Classes are friendly, so you won't feel out of place as a new person, as there are always new people trying out a class, perhaps not on the day you come, but everyone has to start somewhere. I spend a lot of time teaching yoga to community groups - to people who have never done any yoga before, who are stiff, unsure - so you can be confident that even in a class with people who have been coming for a while I will be able to guide you. My classes are always designed to reflect the levels of what the people attending on that day can do, I don't come in with a rigid plan and force it upon you. You will be encouraged to push yourself, but not to step out of your comfort zone, not to stay in a position if you are feeling pain. Remember YOU ARE IN CONTROL, this is your practice, so you can take each posture as far as you wish, you can come out of it at any time, I am here to guide you through your yoga, but only you can really know what you are feeling in your own body.
Don't worry if you feel nervous, you might find it strange when you first come to a yoga class as it is never quite what you expect. You might feel emotional, want to laugh or talk a lot, or just feel quiet. I could not stop laughing the first time I went to a yoga class! But once I got over the initial nervousness and fact that I didn't know what I was doing I started to love it. This expression of an emotion is also a good thing, our body holds emotions and trauma in the tissues and as we move, opening in new unfamiliar ways, or ways we haven't moved in in years, we can start to allow these emotions to be released, and once we start to allow these emotions to release our journey of healing can begin. See my blog on Yoga in a Womens Refuge for more information: http://www.enjoyharmony.com/1/category/yoga%20in%20a%20womens%20refugeaa8663d6b5/1.html
The breathing during the class may also feel a little weird at first and will take some time to get used to, but in time you will automatically start breathing in this way when you start the class. My advice is to start by just remembering to breath freely in every pose, then start to try and co-ordinate your breath to your movements, after that you can begin breathing in and out through the nose and trying to make your inhale and exhale the same length as you co-ordinate it with your movements. This sounds a lot harder than it is, but if you build up slowly you will get there in no time. Once you get to this stage we can add on the next stage, which I will be talking about in classes.
What is important in yoga is that you listen to your body and take everything at your own pace. No one expects you to be able to do everything right away. It is also important to remember that it isn't a competition, so try to avoid comparing yourself to what anyone else in the class is doing, even in a group setting yoga is a personal practice. It doesn't matter if the person next to you has been doing yoga for years and can get their leg around their head, if their mind and breath are all over the place they still have work to do. "Asana should not simply be an external form into which you fit your body, but should arise from within you. What you see is the form. What you feel is the function of the posture. Unity, not uniformity is the goal of yoga". A.G.Mohan Yoga is about uniting the breath, body and mind to create harmony. The asana are a way to open your body and bring ease into it, so it doesn't matter what the outward expression is, what is important is trying to connect to how this asana is making you feel on a physical and emotional way. "In the current yoga trend, many non-practitioners have been led to believe that yoga involves wrapping your legs around your head and 180-degree joint flexibility. Or an aggressive and difficult activity...The ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve a balanced, healthy body and a calm focused mind, which anyone can attain. Simply stated, you do not need to be flexible, thin, focused, young or even healthy to do yoga. Yoga can help you attain those goals." "Nirmala Heriza
Once you start to attend classes regularly you will become familiar with the asana (postures) that we do and the whole practice will stop feeling so alien to you, as you will start to know what to expect. You can then really start to focus on how things feel, on what's happening with your breath, where your thoughts are going, and start to notice that as your body gets stronger and more flexible that your mind becomes less preoccupied with the uncomfortable feelings of a tense unused body.
As with anything, the more you do it, the more benefits you will receive; the more you will notice stress levels lowering, a feeling of relaxation in the class, greater flexibility, strength, tone etc. You can't expect to get all of this in your first class.
Feel free to come along to any class, beginners are always welcome.
So don't be sacred come along and try a class today.
Any problems or questions feel free to email me.
Classes are friendly, so you won't feel out of place as a new person, as there are always new people trying out a class, perhaps not on the day you come, but everyone has to start somewhere. I spend a lot of time teaching yoga to community groups - to people who have never done any yoga before, who are stiff, unsure - so you can be confident that even in a class with people who have been coming for a while I will be able to guide you. My classes are always designed to reflect the levels of what the people attending on that day can do, I don't come in with a rigid plan and force it upon you. You will be encouraged to push yourself, but not to step out of your comfort zone, not to stay in a position if you are feeling pain. Remember YOU ARE IN CONTROL, this is your practice, so you can take each posture as far as you wish, you can come out of it at any time, I am here to guide you through your yoga, but only you can really know what you are feeling in your own body.
Don't worry if you feel nervous, you might find it strange when you first come to a yoga class as it is never quite what you expect. You might feel emotional, want to laugh or talk a lot, or just feel quiet. I could not stop laughing the first time I went to a yoga class! But once I got over the initial nervousness and fact that I didn't know what I was doing I started to love it. This expression of an emotion is also a good thing, our body holds emotions and trauma in the tissues and as we move, opening in new unfamiliar ways, or ways we haven't moved in in years, we can start to allow these emotions to be released, and once we start to allow these emotions to release our journey of healing can begin. See my blog on Yoga in a Womens Refuge for more information: http://www.enjoyharmony.com/1/category/yoga%20in%20a%20womens%20refugeaa8663d6b5/1.html
The breathing during the class may also feel a little weird at first and will take some time to get used to, but in time you will automatically start breathing in this way when you start the class. My advice is to start by just remembering to breath freely in every pose, then start to try and co-ordinate your breath to your movements, after that you can begin breathing in and out through the nose and trying to make your inhale and exhale the same length as you co-ordinate it with your movements. This sounds a lot harder than it is, but if you build up slowly you will get there in no time. Once you get to this stage we can add on the next stage, which I will be talking about in classes.
What is important in yoga is that you listen to your body and take everything at your own pace. No one expects you to be able to do everything right away. It is also important to remember that it isn't a competition, so try to avoid comparing yourself to what anyone else in the class is doing, even in a group setting yoga is a personal practice. It doesn't matter if the person next to you has been doing yoga for years and can get their leg around their head, if their mind and breath are all over the place they still have work to do. "Asana should not simply be an external form into which you fit your body, but should arise from within you. What you see is the form. What you feel is the function of the posture. Unity, not uniformity is the goal of yoga". A.G.Mohan Yoga is about uniting the breath, body and mind to create harmony. The asana are a way to open your body and bring ease into it, so it doesn't matter what the outward expression is, what is important is trying to connect to how this asana is making you feel on a physical and emotional way. "In the current yoga trend, many non-practitioners have been led to believe that yoga involves wrapping your legs around your head and 180-degree joint flexibility. Or an aggressive and difficult activity...The ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve a balanced, healthy body and a calm focused mind, which anyone can attain. Simply stated, you do not need to be flexible, thin, focused, young or even healthy to do yoga. Yoga can help you attain those goals." "Nirmala Heriza
Once you start to attend classes regularly you will become familiar with the asana (postures) that we do and the whole practice will stop feeling so alien to you, as you will start to know what to expect. You can then really start to focus on how things feel, on what's happening with your breath, where your thoughts are going, and start to notice that as your body gets stronger and more flexible that your mind becomes less preoccupied with the uncomfortable feelings of a tense unused body.
As with anything, the more you do it, the more benefits you will receive; the more you will notice stress levels lowering, a feeling of relaxation in the class, greater flexibility, strength, tone etc. You can't expect to get all of this in your first class.
Feel free to come along to any class, beginners are always welcome.
So don't be sacred come along and try a class today.
Any problems or questions feel free to email me.
To see Yoga Classes, click HERE
© Enjoy Harmony
Yoga, Massage & Nutritional Therapy in Glasgow
Phone: 07708044560 Email: info@enjoyharmony.com
Yoga, Massage & Nutritional Therapy in Glasgow
Phone: 07708044560 Email: info@enjoyharmony.com
