This post is aimed at beginners, especially intended for people who don’t really have money to spend and are looking to start yoga from their home.
I would first like to address a popular misconception: You do not have to be flexible to do yoga! You can be stiff as a board, and you will gain flexibility as you practice consistently. There are many people who say they are not flexible enough to do yoga; this is like saying you are too dirty to take a shower.
1: What You Need (and don’t need)
A yoga mat is very helpful, and you can get one for about $10. However, you can also use a towel or blanket or rug. Ensure that it will support you and not stretch out while you are in a pose, causing your feet to slide further apart than intended, for example. Don’t have a towel or stretchy blanket on a hardwood or linoleum floor, you can injure yourself this way when it slides.
You can just do yoga on a carpeted floor, but many people find it helpful to at least have a towel on the floor as it helps them “set their space” and help with alignment of hands and feet, to see a “boundary” so to speak.
A yoga band is helpful in many stretches, and costs around $5-20. You can substitute with an old pair of pants or leggings you don’t wear, by putting your foot between the legs of it and holding onto the legs of the pants with each hand. They might get ripped a bit so make sure it’s a pair you don’t plan on wearing again.
Yoga blocks are helpful too. You can substitute with a big book such as a dictionary, or a random chunk of wood or a brick you might have handy. These are great for in poses where you can’t quite get your hand/s on the floor, you place your hand/s on the block/s instead, allowing you to get the benefits of the pose without being off-balance or straining yourself. Very convenient.
Having a chair or a wall nearby is great for balance in standing poses and inversions, until your body learns to balance in each pose on its own.
Don’t feel you need to try to do yoga poses “perfectly” right off the bat without any props, this is a misconception pushed by yoga snobs. Using a prop can go a long way in mastering a pose. I have been doing yoga for many years and I still enjoy the benefits of a block or a wall for certain poses.
If you can get a copy of Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar, this will help you learn many asanas. If you can’t, I have written posts here detailing various asanas, and I have written more on my profile wall.
2: What To Wear
You don’t need to go buy trendy yoga clothes. Track pants, tank top, t-shirt, pajamas, just your underwear if the temperature is warm, whatever you want (make sure you have privacy and door locked if you don’t want anyone walking in on you). A baggy sweatshirt or sweater is not recommended, as they prevent you from seeing your arms correctly, causing misalignment and possible injury, especially to the shoulders.
Socks can be dangerous if they cause you to slip, but being barefoot can also cause you to slip if your feet sweat at all. Some socks are good and won’t let you slip on a yoga mat. However, some socks become loose fitting after too many washes, so it might be best to wear them just during your yoga practice and not wash them as often as regular socks. If your socks are loose, they can cause you to become misaligned and injure yourself, this may sound weird but has happened to people.
If you have money to spend, clothing made out of bamboo is said to be harmonious for the elements of the body, but bamboo socks are slippery on mats. Linen is also healthy for the body. Polyester is synthetic and can cause you to sweat as it does not allow your skin to breathe, but polyester socks grip well on yoga mats.
Thin, form-fitting, stretchy fabric clothes are generally best, they enable getting into poses easily without fabric bunching up. Many athletic brands make yoga clothes fairly affordable, you can have a look around in local shops and online. Do not wear jeans or a nylon jacket, these will decrease your available range of movement and prevent you from properly getting into a pose, and they will likely rip.
It might be best to avoid bold color or patterned pants/shorts, because they might over time fade at the rear and look worn. This is fine if you practice alone and not concerned with clothes that look new.
For winter, if you can’t or don’t want to turn up the heat in your house, flannel pajama pants are great, and you can wear a warm comfortable sleeveless vest over a long-sleeve fitted stretchy shirt or flannel pajama shirt, keeping your core warm while still allowing you to see the alignment of your arms correctly.
3: Time Of Day To Do Yoga
The body is stiff first thing in the morning and more flexible as the day progresses, so most people might prefer doing Hatha at night before going to bed; this can also aid in sleep for some people; but the increased energy might be too stimulating and prevent a restful sleep in other people.
Some people prefer to do Hatha as early in the day as possible so their body is conditioned and limber for the rest of the day.
Some people prefer to do Hatha in the afternoon, which works great as an energizer if you tend to feel drowsy at that time of day. Do what works best for you, in accordance to your daily routine and bodily needs.
If you choose to do Hatha at night or the afternoon, you can still do something first thing in the morning, such as Sun Salutations. These help get the body warmed up for the day, and raise your energy. One idea would be to do Sun Salutations followed by Kundalini Yoga in the morning, and then Hatha at night, but this is completely up to you. Some people might find they become too lethargic or lazy if they do Hatha in the morning/day, whereas Kundalini Yoga can increase physical energy for the rest of the day if they do it in the morning. You should experiment and find out what works best for you.
4: Eating
Do not do Yoga right after eating. Ideally, wait 90 minutes after a meal, or you will experience cramping and trying to do a pose around a full stomach. If you need to eat first, have something light but nourishing such as yogurt. Keep water nearby in case you need it while practicing. Warm water (heated in a kettle or on the stove) is easier on the stomach.
As for what food to eat, veganism and vegetarianism is not healthy for most people. Contrary to popular belief, yogis only became vegetarian in the past few hundred years. In the Ayurvedic texts, it says multiple times in multiple ways that we need to eat meat for optimal health. As Lady Pythia has stated, restricting your diet leads to blocks in the Sacral chakra, and so does feeling guilty about eating something you think you shouldn’t have. You do not need to eat “completely clean and pure food” to advance.
5: How Many Asanas To Do?
There are a lot of asanas (poses). You do not have to do them all. Look through a book or online and start with just a few. You can add more when you want to. Ideally, a Hatha session should include poses of: standing, sitting, kneeling, prone, supine, twists, inversions, forward bending, backward bending, side bending. You can mix it up a bit, for example doing more hamstring stretching poses one day, then ease off those the next day and do more twists instead.
Make sure to do savasana (corpse pose) after! This is where the bioelectricity rises, and the benefits of yoga come together. Just lie on your mat relaxed and keep your mind as still as you can, do Void meditation. You can place a blanket over you to feel more comfortable. I would advise not lying in bed as you will be more likely to fall asleep, but if you have problems with your back then it will be preferred to lay in bed for the support from your mattress.
After a few moments of savasana you can do a daily affirmation, or an additional aura of protection. Always program the energy you raise, so if you can’t think of anything to put your yoga energy towards, just a simple AoP affirmation will be great. It would be a waste to get up right after doing yoga and going about your day. You can even affirm something like “My body and soul are healing and benefiting from my yoga practice” 10 times. Or, any working you are doing, you can state the affirmation of it after yoga as an addition.
6: Preventing Injuries
Warm up first. Don’t get into a difficult pose with a stiff body. Do Sun Salutations, and/or warm-up routines seen in books or videos. Neck rolls, wrist rolls, some light stretching, free-form dance, go for a short walk first, whatever you feel you need.
Listen to your body, don’t push past your limit, and do not compete with anyone. This isn’t about who can bend the most, it is about tuning in to your body and working your nadis (energy pathways) and chakras. Do a bit of research into each pose you want to try, to ensure your alignment is correct. Modify any poses that are currently too difficult for you.
7: What to Expect
There is often a release of emotions. Even in a class, someone will burst into tears. This is normal, especially for anyone who was wrongly trained to repress their emotions. There can also be emotions from past lives rising up, because they need to be dealt with, processed, and understood, then released. Allow this to happen so you can advance. Repression never leads to advancement; understanding and managing does. Yoga opens pathways for the soul to heal.
There will also be walls in the mind coming down. Flashes of intuition, breakthroughs, revelations of something you need to do or learn, things suddenly making sense. Yoga opens pathways for the soul to express itself.
You can expect to feel good, and have a more youthful body even as you age. Yoga opens pathways for the body to nourish and rejuvenate itself.
Finally, you will become more advanced overall, in all aspects. Yoga opens pathways for the Kundalini Serpent to rise.
8: Getting Advice from an Expert
If you are completely new to yoga, or still feeling lost, you can pay for one hour-long private session where you can receive one-on-one guidance. This can be expensive (around $100 USD, prices will vary depending on your country), but is well worth the cost. The advice given to you will then help you as you continue yoga at home or in studio classes. Ask the teacher any questions you have, they have heard them all before and can answer professionally.
If this is not an option for you, you can attend a studio class and ask them questions after the class, or even during class (this is usually permissible). And if you do attend a studio class, attend the one for your level. A lot of beginners want to go to advanced classes, especially men who think it means more strength training. Advanced classes are for people who know yoga. If you are a beginner, attend a beginners class where they welcome all questions and give more instructions.
If you cannot attend a studio class, look up instructional videos online for how to do poses, including the transition into and out of each pose. The transitions are where injuries are more likely to happen, so knowing how to safely enter and exit a pose is crucial.
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