What do I need to start practicing yoga?

One of the advantages of practicing yoga is that we do not need practically any material: a good mat with an anti-slip surface, a blanket to cover us during the final relaxation, comfortable clothes and above all a good teacher to guide us at the beginning. If it is true that over time we will be able to practice yoga at home without the need for someone to guide us or just follow the class through the many online yoga videos on the net, in the first years the figure is almost essential for the teacher who accompanies us in learning Yoga gradually to be healthy and fit.

To start practicing yoga and become aware of our body through the postures (asanas) and sequences (vinyasa-yoga-sequence) it will always be easier if we start with those simpler postures  that require less effort on our part and with which it is us easier to pay more attention to our body and breathing. A good teacher will guide us over time to advance in the knowledge of this practice, correcting our body in each posture and giving fluidity to the transition between postures.

To start practicing yoga with a teacher also has the advantage that it will clarify which postures are counterproductive if we have some type of specific injury. Both at home and in a Yoga school, the practice of yoga directed by the voice of another person, in addition to allowing the order of postures and sequences to have a logic depending on the objective pursued in that session will also help us to provide attention solely and exclusively to our breathing.

Tips and mistakes to avoid when you start practicing Yoga

• You don’t want to rush. Yoga is not a run of 100 m smooth, rather it resembles the preparation of a long distance race, you have to be patient and go little by little, know your body and its response to each posture or sequence has a process and some times that we must respect.
• Thinking that if I am not flexible I will not be able to do yoga is a very common mistake when we start. Flexibility and strength are gained over time and depend in part on each one, do not try to go beyond what your body allows you to abruptly. Yoga should help you to know your body, its limitations and how to go further, but always gradually.
• Losing concentration very quickly or not being able to disconnect the mind is normal at first. Like elasticity or strength, we must train concentration and the way to do this is breathing. Focus your mind and your attention on the breath as much as possible and it will be easier for you to have the concentration necessary to correctly perform each pose.
• Being injured and not telling your teacher is another very common mistake when you start practicing yoga. If you have back, knee, cervical or any other injury, tell your yoga teacher and he will recommend which postures are adequate, counterproductive, which others can help you improve that injury or which you should do with greater caution.
• Use your breath as a means of concentrating and avoiding thoughts. Breathe only through your nose getting used to doing it slowly and accompanying the movements with the exhalation or inhalation as required by each posture or asana.
• Start sessions abruptly. The beginning of practicing yoga sessions should gradually prepare the body and mind to withstand greater stresses and efforts. The initial postures and sequences should be able to awaken our body, leaving it ready to perform postures or asanas that require greater physical requirements and therefore greater concentration.
• Enjoy the ultimate relaxation. The moment of relaxation at the end of the practicing yoga or yoga class is essential to complete the awareness of our body and necessary to recognize how the sequences and postures have influenced it.

How to practice yoga at home?

Tips for beginner to practice yoga at home, although at first glance it seems extremely easy since it does not require apparatus or practically space, it requires taking into consideration some key aspects to be effective:

• Find a quiet place for practicing yoga where you do not have external stimuli that prevent you from focusing on the practice, help yourself if necessary with quiet music and soft light.
• Define in advance the session to be carried out, both in time and in physical demand. Each moment of the day may require a different yoga session. Trying to perform activation sessions at the beginning of the day and relaxation sessions before going to sleep and you will see how the body assimilates the same posture differently depending on the intensity with which we do it and the sequence where it has been included.
• Even if you are no longer a beginner in practicing yoga and unless you have the whole session memorized and internalized, look in voice recordings or online videos for a way in which the session is directed. A session guided by the voice of another person will help you to focus solely on the posture and you will avoid breaking the thread of the sequences if you do not remember part of the session.
• Choose a time of day in which you have enough time to enjoy the session, if we are in a hurry to finish or immediately after we have to do something urgently, it will be very difficult to achieve the necessary concentration to carry out the session correctly.
• Start with short sessions that include sequences and poses that you already know or have practiced in guided classes.
• Do not focus all the practice on your body, be aware that the mind and breath are fundamental parts when practicing yoga.
• You can increase the duration of the sessions by lengthening the time in which you remain in each position and/or repeating the sequences several times at the beginning of practicing yoga.

Author Selena is a blogger and a guest contributor

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MESHEBLE. In her leisure time, she plays tennis.