A few questions from a newbie and beginner

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi all! :slight_smile:

I’m new here, and also fairly new to yoga, so I do have a lot of questions to ask, so i would be so happy for some friendly advice and help.

First of all, sometimes when i finish, I feel a little tired, and sometimes yawn a lot during practise? what does this mean?

Secondly, sometimes i find that my breathing is out of sync with certain poses, sometimes im inhaling and exhaling correctly, and sometimes a little out of sync (i’m still trying to find my feet…or breath as the case my be), how can I get more in tune with my body and breath as well as mind?

And thirdly, I know part of yoga is to be patient with yourself, and to just let go, but sometimes I get a little scared to let go, and was wondering how long did it take for some of you to be confident enough to do this?

Love! :slight_smile:

#2

Hi there,

For the part about yawning and feeling tired, what kind of practice brought you to that state ? e.g. did you do intense practices like Power Vinyasa/Ashtanga, or was it hot yoga or restorative, or even meditation? And what was the environment like, e.g. a small crowded studio with poor ventilation sometimes may make people feel oxygen-deprived. And that may have something to do with your general fitness level, so do you feel that way after doing exercises other than yoga?

For the part about breathing, try to lead your movement with your breath. Follow the teacher’s instruction and begin the inhalation or exhalation first [I]before [/I]moving (e.g. count 1 :inhale–> then count 2: starting moving–> then stay in the pose and count 3,4,5, then count 1 exhale first—> then count 2, then move…etc)

As for the part of letting go, yes you must be very patient to let yourself open up gradually. When you keep on practicing with faith, the process will unfold on its own. It’s an amazing experience, so please keep going and you’ll be pleasantly surprised!:wink:

#3

[QUOTE=glpom;85489]Hi there,

For the part about yawning and feeling tired, what kind of practice brought you to that state ? e.g. did you do intense practices like Power Vinyasa/Ashtanga, or was it hot yoga or restorative, or even meditation? And what was the environment like, e.g. a small crowded studio with poor ventilation sometimes may make people feel oxygen-deprived. And that may have something to do with your general fitness level, so do you feel that way after doing exercises other than yoga?

For the part about breathing, try to lead your movement with your breath. Follow the teacher’s instruction and begin the inhalation or exhalation first [I]before [/I]moving (e.g. count 1 :inhale–> then count 2: starting moving–> then stay in the pose and count 3,4,5, then count 1 exhale first—> then count 2, then move…etc)

As for the part of letting go, yes you must be very patient to let yourself open up gradually. When you keep on practicing with faith, the process will unfold on its own. It’s an amazing experience, so please keep going and you’ll be pleasantly surprised!;)[/QUOTE]

Hello :slight_smile: Well aside from yoga I do other exercising, normally I feel really good. It’s not every practise that I feel tired, but just sometimes, and It was only in my living room, it was a Vinyasa flow.

I suppose breatha nd being able to let go comes with patience and practise.

#4

You secondly answers your first:)
what you call “out of sync” breath may result in CO2 and O2 imbalance and make you to yawn. I have had clients with such an issue and personal experience with TERRIBLE yawn during pranayama.

Thirdly… good to b scared. some yoga practices can be dangerous to your health. some asanas, some pranayamas, and other things need guidance.

To help you any further any good teacher would ask what practice are you doing and who is guiding you. DVD is not a good teacher.

Yoga is not a fun fitness. Playing around with breath and asanas might take one quite out of balance if done improperly, in a wrong order, etc, etc.

#5

GLPOM’s inquiry was designed to garner more information from you in order to craft a sound reply. So to now be more direct … since you’re new to the community and we’ve not directly met you please tell us about your practice, what sort it is, how often you’re doing it, for what length of time etc.

Gordon

#6

At the moment I do a Vinyasa or Hatha flow, for about 30 minutes, I try and do it most days of the week, and normally do it in the evening after my regular work out. Due to work I find it very diffcult to find the time to go to a studio and try, unless I’m too tired from work i’ll just do my regular workout which i do 6 days a week.

One of the reasons why I got into yoga was because of this swedish girl called Rachel Brathen, who I had found on Instagram, and she taught herself to do yoga, (and a few others from what I have seen on the internet it is possible), and now teaches world wide. I know you will probably try and scold me and say I should attend at least a few lessons, and later on in practise I might just go to a class at some point, I follow tutorials on YouTube because they do explain the breathing with each pose and move. They’re very basic and easy moves which I love because I’m very new. I have read so much about it, and follow the video’s carefully, I also try and use the mirror we have in our lounge for alignment.

#7

Great, thank you for the additional information.

I don’t have a particular investment in where or how you, or others, learn their practice(s). That is entirely up to the person and subject to cause-and-effect laws, as all choice is. So a scolding is certainly not in the cards from me.

[B]Fatigue[/B]- there are two basic kinds of fatigue. The kind you experience from a significant energy expenditure like climbing a mountain and the kind you experience that feels more like lethargy, sloth, or torpor. The latter of which typically comes from leaky kidney energy, nutritional intake, or your environment. Which it is for you only you can determine. Try reducing the energy expenditure and resting or increasing the nutritional support.
[B]
Side note[/B] … something I’m sure you’ve learned from your self-teaching, the body has limits and like all machines will burn out if it is not properly rested and rejuvenated. Enter restoratives and gentle pranayama. To only do a frisky practice, for a person who leads a full and frisky life, is to squirt lighter fluid on an already burning fire. The practice should counter your nature not bloat it - sloth-like folks need moving, speeders need calming.

[B]Breath, mind, and body[/B] being synchronized, this is a learned skill. And since you’ve not mentioned whether you’ve been practicing for 5 years or 5 months I cannot read the barometer of your climate. Some of this comes just from practice, intention and effort. Some of it comes from being externally directed (yes, the dreaded teacher reference) guided, led, or otherwise cued. And, as you surely must know, some of it comes from a grounding at the beginning of each practice and the recitation of Om and the Gayatri Mantra which attune you to the vibration of the context and clarify the requested illumination of the consciousness.

[B]Patience & Letting Go[/B]
Finally, patience is one of the five requirements of a student of yoga. However “letting go” is a very vague terms and even in its most clear form, inaccurate. It likely comes from a misguided attempt to woo-woo-ize the practice and lend a new-age vernacular to an already sound and effective system. Why do I say this? Because the purpose of the practice is not to drop on the floor like a sack of flour. That is letting go. Some things are being held and other things are being released. Even the universe is not “letting go”.

Now, if the point is about cultivating trust and self belief, embracing an urge to grow and a willingness to change, then yes, absolutely this is part and parcel. Since you mention scared we are talking about fears and those things may be addressed when the practice space is being held energetically and is safe for the doing.

#8

Thank you InnerAthlete! :slight_smile:

You have been a huge help, I should have mentioned, as I forgot, that I have only been doing it for about 2 and a half weeks or so, not very long at all!! You’re information and advice has been of sound help to me :slight_smile: But the fatigue bit didnt occur to me, because my work is so hectic, I work in a hospital, and then I do a vigiorous Cardio workout, I guess i do burn myself out a lot.

This has been a great help to me. So thank you

#9

First of all, sometimes when i finish, I feel a little tired, and sometimes yawn a lot during practice? what does this mean?

This is normal and must go with practice of few weeks. If you already have finished few weeks then either you may not be consistent or there is some issues in your lifestyle habits.

Secondly, sometimes i find that my breathing is out of sync with certain poses, sometimes im inhaling and exhaling correctly, and sometimes a little out of sync (i’m still trying to find my feet…or breath as the case my be), how can I get more in tune with my body and breath as well as mind?

This is also natural and body takes time to adapt to new postures. For body it is like a panic situation. Focus only on breathing very slowly initially instead of syncing. Once your body becomes little stable with posture then try for syncing.

thirdly, I know part of yoga is to be patient with yourself, and to just let go, but sometimes I get a little scared to let go, and was wondering how long did it take for some of you to be confident enough to do this?

Same as question 2 above that body takes postures as an accident and warns you of panic situation. It goes with practice.

If you have willingness and consistency then all these and similar issues should vanish in few weeks of practice. Be patient , confidence comes as you move ahead in practice but keep long term goal.

#10

Blessings Lollypoppet,

[B]Question One: [/B]

There can be a lot of different reasons why you might be tired and yawn a lot after practice. In my personal experience I have found the following to been a cause:
[ul]
[li]Lack of sleep
[/li][li]Practicing after eating
[/li][li]Thinking too much while doing my practice and/or being unfocused
[/li][li]As the energy rises it comes up against blocks, stagnations, leaks, and such, and instead of flowing through and filling us up, the energy ends up breaking these issues, which in turn can cause us to be depleted
[/li][/ul]

Things I have done that help is to be fully present with the body, not with an intense focus, but rather, a soft gentle touching. Also, I try to be fully aware of the sensations, the breath, or some one aspect/thing within the moment itself. Getting enough sleep, not pushing myself too hard, making sure to give some space between eating, keeping focused, and other such things all have helped me in the past as well.

[B]Question Two:[/B]

Keep at it. Just bring your awareness to it, and in time, it will come natural. Try not to be too hard on yourself. Also, try not to focus on too many things at once. Yoga does not have to be a competition, a trial, a flawless performance. Enjoy it. Feel the sensation, feel the connection the breath has with the movements, with the asanas. Try even to tweak it a little ? find out for yourself why it is beneficial to breathe one way or another. Feel it. Don’t just listen to what other people say, find out for yourself. As long as you are gentle, that you listen to your body/mind, you will be fine. Oh yea, and do not forget to enjoy yourself.

[B]Question Three: [/B]

In a nut shell, “It is a process.” I have been doing yoga for 14 years and seriously practicing for over four and I still get impatient with myself, have a hard time letting go, and fail more often than not. The fact that you are asking these questions and being honest with yourself is a good sign that you are on the right Path.

Yoga is not easy, at least, not when you get past the physical side of it ? although ? the physical side is not always easy either. Just keep walking/practicing. Be soft with yourself like you would with a child just starting to walk/read. Honor yourself, be honest with yourself, and in-joy: for life is beautiful and you are part of it?

Blessings Be?