Yoga positions for beginners: getting the most out of your classesYoga positions for beginners. We all have to begin somewhere. No matter how young or old, we all face the challenge of being new to something. The greatest challenge that we face is not the novelty of the situation, but the mental blocks that pop up. Our Ego rears it's head in funny ways. Defensiveness, uneasiness about not having an immediate understanding of a topic and frustrations can develop. Allowing some patience to get acquainted with the postures, their names, how they look and most importantly feel will take some time.The best way to learn yoga is to practice. Where to begin in this myriad of 900 postures? As Julie Andrews said in the Sound of Music "Let's start at the very beginning"..come on, you can here her sing it..."it's a very good place to start"... Ashtanga Yoga is the foundation upon which all Hatha yoga is built. Thanks to K. Pattabhi Jois, we have a perfect union of opposites. The short form practice of Ashtanga at a studio may be a big bite for a new student to take and actually chew. Nonetheless, we will review the short form series here to evaluate each posture and learn how to modify them to fit the posture to your body, not the other way around. Since almost every position used in the Ashtanga short form is used in all Hatha yoga classes, it is pretty safe to say that we will have some bases covered. I do not give advice, but simple guidelines on how to approach yoga positions for beginners. Nothing replaces the hands-on guidance of a skilled and competent teacher. This warning is in response to the countless free online yoga sites that promise that if you click and join their site as a paying member, the mystical and ancient knowledge of yoga will magically appear from their website.
Yoga positions for beginners begins with a review of Surya Namaskara A, or in English sun salutation A as taught by Jois. Check out these pages, they have slide shows and pictures with full descriptions of the movements so you can follow along. The basic positions in each of these sequences allow the body to move through positions smoothly and rhythmically. These are simple, but very important yoga positions for beginners as the foundation of all yoga classes are based on these.
After completing five of each salutation, one feels warm and ready for a great practice. Utilizing these postures in this flowing sequence of breath movement and gaze is a vinyasa flow. Return from yoga positions for beginners to yoga poses and beyond home |
