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Getting Started with Yoga - How to Get Started with Yoga

Despite the fact that we would like you to visit our Yoga Shop,you basically do not need anything to practice Yoga. The important thing is the attitude - a big heart and a small ego. Some loose fitting clothes or no clothes at all, and a small secluded spot in your house will be enough for you to start with. A balanced diet (sattwik) also aids a great deal in Yoga Practice. A four hour interval between meals is advised. Practicing with a mat, a blanket and a pillow is recommended. Wear a stretch suit or something similar. To get to know the Basic Yoga Postures or Asanas, you can get them from this website or buy an Introduction to Yoga book, video or DVD. There are lots of Yoga Information sources available in the market. The best way to Get Started with Yoga is to buy a Yoga Kit for beginners. (see below)

Where and What to Wear for Yoga

One of the advantages of Yoga is that it can be practiced almost anywhere, without special equipment, and by people of all ages. In looking for a studio, choose a place that is relatively free from distractions, the place should be quiet, clean and well ventilated. Using a mat, a blanket, or towel will provide support and added comfort when you do lying or sitting positions. It's best to wear loose or stretch clothing, such as shorts, sweat clothes, or leotards. Yoga is traditionally practiced barefoot, however, socks or soft-shoes can be put on. It is also best to practice Yoga on an empty stomach or about one or two hours after a full meal. Empty your stomach, clean your nostril and throat, and consume a glass of warm water 15 minutes before you start. You may eat fruit, energy bar, drink a glass of juice or water an hour before class to avoid getting really hungry during practice.

When and How Long should you do Yoga

Practicing first thing in the morning is an excellent way to revitalize the mind and body, while practicing Yoga Breathing and Meditation Exercises at night helps induce a deep, restful sleep. Like in regular exercise, you always start with easy poses to condition your body for the more difficult exercises that follows. Do not strain yourself. Pause when you feel pain or fatigue. Relaxing in between difficult exercises is also beneficial. Yoga Sessions need not be lengthy, but should be done daily. As little as 15 minutes of exercises and 15 minutes of Breathing and Meditation each day can yield benefits.

Yoga Props

As mentioned earlier, you basically do not need anything in order to Practice Yoga. All you need is the attitude - the desire to expand your self awareness. But this does not completely eliminate the need for the different Yoga Props. These props help you achieve the proper alignment, balance and make the pose a bit easier. The use of props also minimizes the strain and supports your muscles, thus allowing you to save your energy by exerting less effort on a pose. Yoga props help people with Medical Ailments and the Elderly to cross their limitations. The props provide support, enabling them to do the poses that their ailments or old age prevent them from doing.

Here are some Yoga Props to start with:

non-slip mat
strap or belt
cotton or wool blanket
chair with arm rests
wooden or foam block or a phone book

Basic Yoga Session

A Basic Yoga Session need not take too long. A basic session usually follows this order:

Warm-up Exercises - conditions your body for safe transition into asana practice. For beginners, you may just use the warm-up poses as your entire practice. Warm-up exercises open the shoulder muscles, the spine, the hips, the lower back, and the groin.
Standing Poses - for alignment of the feet and the body. Opens the hips, stretches the legs, add strength to your back and increases your range of movement. Standing poses facilitates digestion, blood circulation and is good for those who want to lose weight.
Sitting Poses - sitting poses allows you to infuse with the breath and prana, and to revitalize from a pose by giving you a calm and quiet feeling. These poses greatly contribute in shaping your buttocks and legs, and in adding vitality and suppleness to the spine.
Twists - twist exercises releases the tension in your spines, relieves backaches and makes your shoulders more flexible. It also facilitates in the circulation of blood and nutrients in the body making it necessary for the health of the inter-vertebral discs.
Supine and Prone Poses - these poses releases tension in your abdomen and increase the mobility of your spine. It restores strength in your back, arms and legs, and releases your hips and groins.
Inverted and Balance Poses - inverted and balance poses defies gravity and develops coordination, increase stamina and strength, and improves grace, agility and poise. It also improves you concentration and focus since being quiet is necessary to be able to do these poses.
Backbends - backbends are the poses that benefit the adrenal glands and the kidney. It also releases tension in the front body and in your shoulders and pelvic girdle, and improves the flexibility of your spine.
Finishing Poses - these are the cooling-down exercises for Yoga.

Yoga Practices and Cautions

When performing the asanas, try to concentrate on each movement - the process of moving is just as important as attaining a given position. Remember that you should not strain or continue holding any Yoga posture if it causes pain. Yoga isn't a competitive sport, and the extent of the stretch is less important than the technique. Each asana may be repeated up to three times, but it is better to perform a posture once correctly than repeating it three times quickly and sloppily. Try to perform the poses in the prescribed order, since the routine is meant to help balance the different muscle groups.

Users who read this article also read the following articles:

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Article Comments

alicelharris
Monday 6th September 2004 at 6:25:28 AM

I am new to yoga. I have gained weight since I took an office job and I want to lose weight and I want to learn to deal with stress without medication. My husband is partially paralyzed and worry too much about everything. I just want to be more at ease and feel better about myself.

LaMonica
Sunday 22nd July 2007 at 11:48:34 AM

I took a few yoga classes a few years back, but it got so expensive , and I stopped. But I remember how great I felt after each class, and I am ready to start again.. I could really use some support in my renewed journey.

suzy
Thursday 20th September 2007 at 7:37:48 AM

I have always been an exercise nut :) Lately the heavier routines have not been complimenting my work which constitues heavy lifting and walking. I have been experiencing tightness in the hips and buttocks reagion, a very uncomfortable tightness the aggravates an old back injury. I am hoping the fluidity and relaxation of Yoga will ease the tensions of my daily routines and aid in healing of my body.

kivamar
Friday 25th January 2008 at 11:57:34 AM

I am also new to yoga and want to encourage you. I am a heavy woman starting at age 52 and I know that just in the few weeks I've done it, I feel better after every session. I amslo a desk jockey like you and sometimes walking is just not enough. I encourage us both!

kivamar
Friday 25th January 2008 at 11:58:14 AM

CarolBrooks
Monday 16th March 2009 at 6:03:33 AM

I am practicing yoga from last six months, but not regularly so in a sense I am also new to it one can say. Whenever I do yoga in the morning I feel better, fresh full of energy for the rest of the day. The following article inspired me a lot <;a href="http://asiasmedicaltourism.com/category_story_1453.html">;The Yogic route to health and wellness<;/a>; and so I did some research and ended up here and joined this community to learn more about yoga posses and its benefits.

Serenita
Monday 19th October 2009 at 2:31:45 PM

Hi LaMonica,

before I started yoga, I too wanted to take classes at a yoga studio, but soon realized that a lot of places are a bit pricey and have these set schedules that sometimes do not work with mine. So, I bought home videos - and they are great, not to mention cheap! I can go at my own pace and choosing different ones depending on my mood that day is wonderful. I do sometimes think that maybe I need to be adjusted in certain poses, but there are also books for that that explain how the pose should be done and what it should feel like if you are doing it correctly. So, don''t let cost stop you! Maybe doing yoga at home would be good to try. Good luck!

saloshna
Thursday 26th November 2009 at 6:38:21 AM

i have been doing yoga on and off for about 2 years. i have felt relieff from back pain and pain in my knees. i also feel lighter and able to deal with emotional and physical issues. i hope to continue doing yoga.

mybreddy
Monday 4th January 2010 at 2:06:16 AM

IAM one year old yoga practioner.since then am feeling god and became slimer.

Vas
Wednesday 24th February 2010 at 4:26:05 AM

excellent techniques discribed here
I follow these instructions to perform yoga
Good , keep it UP

Stacy
Wednesday 24th March 2010 at 8:15:19 PM

I am brand new to yoga and how found alot of stress in my life as well as the need to get in shape. I am hoping this will help me get back in shape as well as allow me to release stress.

Mary
Monday 31st May 2010 at 1:17:48 PM

Yoga helps center yourself, getting to know the true you. It deeps your thoughts and makes you aware and awake with the music in your soul and the song you, as an indivisual, sing. Meditation and yoga are the beauties of nature and are well represented in Wicca.
Get in tune! :)

Tshiro
Thursday 3rd June 2010 at 4:54:25 AM

I am new to Yoga..I feel lyk I shd do it in the best way posible.Yoga z interesting and kips the body in harmony!I feel lyk I wanna do it for the rest of my lyf...everyday.Greatest stress reliever!!

Subhash
Friday 11th June 2010 at 2:33:55 AM

I read comments on yoga. Is yoga helpful in fighting mental depression??? If so, can somebody suggest which asasnas are beneficial??

kurt
Thursday 1st July 2010 at 1:54:12 PM

Subhash. Yoga can be helpful with depression. However, sever depression should not be treated with yoga in place of a health professional (psychiatrist).

nasim
Tuesday 27th July 2010 at 4:42:38 PM

your site seem has a lot of useful information about yoga i hope it could help me in order to be master at yoga. thank you.

ravi
Thursday 12th August 2010 at 9:57:05 AM

it is very nice

Catwilson
Tuesday 24th August 2010 at 10:12:46 PM

I have found that my hips are very stiff, and not flexible at all; (I am 58 yrs old) Does yoga get easier and not quite so painful as time passes? (or is there something wrong with me)

sereena
Friday 27th August 2010 at 6:54:33 AM

iam very new to this site & also to yoga.i always wanted to do yoga but never got an opportunity to do it.Iam very thnkaful to this site for providing these usefil informations.Could you please tell me some yoga techniques which helps me to maintain fit brecuse i have the problem of hypothyroid &pcos.Iam just 20yrs old

sheila
Monday 30th August 2010 at 8:22:53 AM

I''m 62 and after severe surgery 4yrs ago I needed to move! After aches especially neck and shoulders (my fault)I am now surprisingly flexible. Knees and hips were stiff but I can now touch toes, crouch down etc etc. I''m very pleased

rita cohen
Sunday 12th September 2010 at 1:35:49 PM

I have many medical issues. Also just had fusion on the cervical area of my neck. I have sever arthritus, Fibermyalga, stnosis and scoliosis starting in my back. I have been in physcial therapy for four months and have done well. Is there a dvd I can purchase on yoga for arthritus? I live in White Lake Michigan are there any class''s that can help me?

adam
Monday 11th October 2010 at 6:34:36 PM

i am a 21 year old man looking to get into yoga to increase my flexibility. i seem to be the only man here! id like to wish you all good luck with your goals

raelene43
Thursday 14th October 2010 at 3:11:23 PM

I am a 26 year old mother of a 2 year old...as any mother my day is filled with stress and not alot of alone time...I have recently decided to start doing Yoga to help with some medical problems and stress relief...I am hoping that with yoga in my life I can make a change for the better...maybe one day I will be able to get my daughter to do it with me as a bonding experience...also I am hoping that one day I can live a yoga life

sudha
Sunday 31st October 2010 at 7:05:47 AM

hi,i''m practising yoga.is there any specific yoga exercises to loss weight and maintaining weight and i had hypo thyroid.

Michael Brennan
Thursday 3rd February 2011 at 12:51:15 AM

I''m interested in yoga and have started by using yoga tapes. I am VERY tight and hope this will loosen me up. Any comments are welcome.

SIBULELE
Monday 7th March 2011 at 7:23:50 AM

I am new at yaga and my reason to start yoga it becouse of the difficulty to cope with my studies becouse whenever i study i fell tired and always feel like sleeping.My body too is always tense

Chris
Monday 7th March 2011 at 12:08:15 PM

I spend less money on yoga over the years than I have in doctor''s visits and Rx''s. I have been able to maintain a healthy weight and have improved my strength and flexibility. I do not tend to stick with yoga DVD''s at home and find that I work harder at the studio than I do at home with my practice. It is hard to juggle life as a mom of three and a career, but I know that the yoga has helped me tremendously over the years and will continue to find time for it. If you are in the south of Dallas area and are looking for an affordable place to practice, come and see me! If you are not in the area, please continue to seek ways to empower your healthy lifestyle somewhere near you-don''t give up :) Yoga has helped me physically, mentally, and spiritually. It helps me to handle stress, depression, anxiety, and anger better. I am a better person because of what I have learned in my study and practice of yoga.

lucy
Wednesday 28th December 2011 at 5:49:37 PM

don''t be discouraged! the main thing that stopped me from trying yoga is that i didn''t think i fit the lifestyle of a spiritual eco-goddess that i felt the yoga world embodied. yoga is great for all ages (there are women in their 70s in my classes!) and all levels of physical capacities. i have found the yoga world to be the most welcoming, understanding and motivational activities out there. try it and you won''t regret it :)

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