Believe it or not, yoga is an accurate word, and it’s not just something you hear from a fitness instructor during your cardio class. Yoga is the physical and mental discipline that takes you beyond a regular workout session. Yoga can be practiced by anyone with strength in their body, including pregnant women and senior citizens.
If you’re looking for an exercise routine with benefits beyond weight loss or muscle toning, consider taking good yoga classes today!
Get to class a few minutes early.
Get to class a few minutes early. This will allow you to find the best spot for your mat and get settled in before class begins. Take this opportunity to prepare yourself mentally and physically for the practice by meditating, breathing deeply, or stretching.
You can also use this time at the beginning of class to talk with your classmates about what they’re working on in their own practice—and maybe even share some tips with them!
Turn off your phone and put it somewhere where you can’t see or hear it.
This is a no-brainer, but it’s worth repeating again and again. If you’re going to yoga class, take a moment before class starts to turn off your phone (and put it someplace where you can’t see or hear it). The point of taking time for yourself is to relax and focus on where you are in the present moment. If your phone keeps buzzing with notifications during class, then—no matter how great those people are—they’ll be nothing more than distractions from this goal of mindfulness and meditation.
Don’t use your phone as a timer while practicing yoga poses (or anything else). This goes along with our previous point about turning off technology before practicing yoga; using an electronic device as a timer detracts from the purpose of doing yoga, which is ultimately to bring yourself into a relaxed state of mind by focusing on one thing at a time without being distracted by any other stimuli around you or within reach. A watch works just fine!
Stay hydrated before, during, and after class.
Keeping yourself hydrated is a must! Drink water before, during, and after class. This will help keep your body energized throughout the entire workout.
If you can’t do an asana, don’t do it.
If you can’t do a pose, don’t do it. When practicing yoga, stop doing the pose if you find that you’re struggling with a pose or have any pain or discomfort.
It would help if you never pushed yourself to perform beyond what feels comfortable for your body. Instead of forcing yourself into anything uncomfortable, skip the asana and move on to another one that works for your body type and skill level.
It’s okay to skip over poses sometimes because everyone has different bodies and abilities—and we’re all at different places in our lives right now! We may be able to do some poses today but not tomorrow, or maybe we’ll start off being able to do certain things today but then get better at them later on down the road.
The important thing is not how flexible, or strong our bodies are right now – they’ll continue changing throughout life anyway – but rather how much effort we put into learning new things along with how much patience and persistence we show during this process (which will only become easier over time).
Work within your limits.
The second point is to work within your limits. Pushing yourself too hard can lead to injury, so listen to your body and don’t try anything too tricky if it puts you out of breath or causes pain. If, after several attempts, you find a pose beyond what feels comfortable or safe, don’t force it! This is especially important for beginners and intermediate yogis who are still building strength and flexibility.
For example:
You’re practicing Downward Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and notice that one foot tends to bend more than the other when on its toes—don’t try to straighten out both feet at the same time because this might cause strain in your lower back muscles; instead separate them slowly until they’re level with each other before moving forward with the rest of the pose.
You’re practicing Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) but can’t get into position without turning sideways—don’t worry about how others around you are doing; stay where you feel comfortable until you’re ready for more advanced versions of this posture.
Take breaks throughout your practice.
There are many benefits to taking breaks during your practice. The break will help you engage in one of the critical components of yoga: mindfulness. You can focus on certain parts of the pose that may be challenging for you or on other areas where you feel more comfortable.
This is when your mind is focused on something specific—in this case, your breathing—and it helps with stress reduction and improved concentration. When practicing mindfulness, try to focus only on what’s happening in the present moment. Practice this by taking deep breaths (or “belly breaths”), focusing on your breath as it enters and exits through your nostrils or mouth, and counting each inhalation and exhalation until it reaches ten repetitions (or more).
Once you’ve reached ten inhale-exhale cycles, reset to zero again before continuing up to ten full cycles until they’re completed again!
Stay calm and remember that everyone else in the room is there for their practice. They’re not paying attention to you or judging you.
Everyone in the room is there for their practice. They’re not paying attention to you or judging you.
Please don’t compare yourself to others; focus on your progress instead of worrying about what others are doing around you (it’s only going to make things worse). This applies both during and outside of class, so don’t be afraid if someone has a better pose than you or can do more things than they could before—they’re still human!
You don’t need to be pretzel-like to practice yoga. You need to be you!
You can be a pretzel-like contortionist to practice yoga. You need to be yourself!
If you’re new to yoga, don’t worry about how your body may or may not look in a pose. Just bring yourself and your curiosity into each class. The teacher will guide you through the poses, breathing techniques, and meditation that make up yoga practice. And if it’s intimidating at first?
That’s okay! It took me months to do even one downward dog pose (a stretchy “push-up” move) without feeling stupid. But now I can do it quickly—and so can most other people who come into yoga classes with an open mind and willingness to learn something new about themselves!
You’ll find some classes are more challenging than others—that’s where having fun comes in handy because if you enjoy what you’re doing, then there won’t be any pressure on yourself when things get tough (or even downright impossible).
It’s okay if you still need to get ready for certain poses!
Yoga is a practice that requires patience and perseverance. You’ll find that some poses come more quickly than others, but make sure to encourage you.
It’s a good idea to focus on the poses that come quickly to you and enjoy them! If a pose is challenging for you, there’s no need to force yourself into it. Plenty of other poses will help build up your strength in preparation for those challenges (which we’ll get into below).
Remember: When practicing yoga, don’t worry about how others are doing or judge yourself for your limitations—relax and enjoy the experience!
Conclusion
Yoga can be an excellent way to deepen your connection with yourself, but it’s important to remember that it’s not about looking good or being flexible. It’s about finding peace in the moment, which can happen anywhere—even when your body is entirely still.
So if you’re struggling to find time for an hour-long class every day, don’t worry! Just take five minutes each day for some simple poses or breathing exercises. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel after just one practice session.
