Yoga For Beginners

By Caroline Klebl

Yoga is an ancient practice, which reduces stress, improves strength and flexibility, purifies the body and mind, and leads to spiritual realization. Beginners may be intimidated by advanced yoga postures and may feel that they are not flexible enough to practice yoga. However, yoga postures are designed to increase flexibility, and beginners should not feel they need to be flexible prior to starting. There are various techniques for learning new yoga postures, such as warming up the body by practicing sun salutations (a series of seven yoga postures), breath awareness, and deep relaxation.

1. The first time you practice yoga, you may feel relaxed, challenged by new movements, positions, and stretches, and overcome by feelings of happiness and transcendence. Yoga is a powerful practice, and its effects are especially noticeable in the beginning. Yoga stimulates the nervous system, improves blood circulation, and stretches and strengthens muscles. If you feel discomfort in yoga poses, you can practice more gently and focus on deep breathing. It is important not to feel pain in yoga poses.

2. Practicing yoga postures, especially new ones, requires focus, patience, and persistence. The first time you try a new pose, it is important to relax, enter the posture carefully and apply gentle pressure to increase the stretch and move deeper into the pose. It is important to enjoy yoga practice and focus on breathing deeply, even if you can't attain full posture. Each posture must be practiced hundreds of times to experience the full pose as well as the complete benefits of the pose. It takes time to increase flexibility, and it is important to be patient, feel the sensations in the body, and enjoy the moment.

3. It may take a couple of yoga classes to get accustomed to moving in and out of yoga poses and holding them for brief or extended periods. Practicing the final version of yoga poses can take a couple of months to a few years. There are hundreds of different yoga poses. You can begin with easier poses, which prepare you for more challenging poses. Finally, you learn to breathe deeply and relax in yoga postures. It is important to practice yoga regularly, two to six times per week, in order for your yoga practice to improve and to attain a deeply meditative state.

4. Before starting a yoga posture practice, it is important to connect with your breath. Begin by noticing your natural breath.

Breathe deeply through your nose and lengthen the inhaling and exhaling breath. Fill your lungs completely on the inhale and exhale completely. Resting your awareness on the breath allows your mind to be still. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, an ancient text on yoga, yoga is defined as the cessation of the movements of the mind. Breathe deeply and let your mind be free of thoughts while practicing yoga asana.

5. Cat-cow posture is a wonderful way for beginners to start yoga posture practice. Practice catcow posture by placing your knees on the floor hip-width apart and your hands on the floor shoulder distance apart. Inhaling, arch the spine down to the floor and lift your head into the cow position. Exhaling, draw the navel toward the spine, reach the spine up to the ceiling, and tuck the chin towards the chest into the cat position. Continue inhaling into the cow position and exhaling into the car position ten times. Then lower the hips onto the heels and rest the forehead on the floor in a child's pose. Relax the entire body and rest your awareness on the breath.

Beginner's to yoga love yoga as much as advanced yoga practitioners. Your first yoga class can be memorable and inspiring.

Known internationally as an outstanding yoga teacher since

1997, Caroline Klebl specializes in Ashtanga Yoga, which she learned from world-renowned Yoga Guru Sri K Pattabhi Jois in India. Klebl's knowledge of the ancient art is extensive and reflected in her Yoga www.sourceofyoga.com

Teacher Training courses, workshops, and retreats have been enthusiastically received in the United States, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

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