hello everyone 
just did my first yoga workout. i did it home with some dvd for beginners. its so hard!!! im not in shape at all… probably thats why!
any tips? where to start? how to make it better?
thanks
Hi Eve,
I have one tip.
Try to maintain compete self-acceptance for that which you can do and that which you cannot, that which is challenging and that which is easy. Try to approach your practice as something you genuinely enjoy experiencing no matter how the practice goes.
Hi eve89 and welcome to the forum.
I don't know what you know about Yoga, so I'll assume you know nothing. 
It sounds like you're mostly interested in exercising your body, which is fine and a very good start, but since Yoga has much more to offer, find out what that is, so you can look out for it in your own practice. Even the physical exercise in Yoga is closer to a religion than it is to a sport.
To gather information, you can start out with Wikipedia:
If you'll get hooked up, you'll find further readings easily there.
Now about the practice. I am a beginner too, with now a few more days than 4 months of experience. Like, as it seems, yourself, I have no personal teacher, which is quite unfortunate, so if you have the option to see one, do so. There is a lot that can be done wrong and even more, that can be done not right. Stuff you do wrong will lead to problems, maybe even injuries, if you miss to do things right, you will waste a lot of time and miss benefits, that you could've gotten if you did it right.
On your own, you have to be smart. Gather as much information as you can about the Asanas and anatomy in general, read books and websites, watch a lot of videos and most important, watch yourself very very (very) closely. Study yourself when you're doing the Asanas, try to find out how they affect you and always keep in mind, that stretching isn't it. Stretching is only the thing you notice most when you start out, because the poses require a flexible body and most of us are very stiff. Asanas go much further, the influence every part of your body, the brain, then nervous system, the inner organs, the bones, the glands - everything.
About your own program (set of postures you are doing): Be conservative, don't try anything new and modern. Go with stuff that has proven to work for most people, which is mostly what great masters suggest. The sun salutation is a good thing to do, though it has no spinal twists and no full-body-inversions like the shoulder- or the headstand. Personally do I go by the course given in B.K.S. Iyengar's book "Light on Yoga" and I think I can as well suggest the course given by Dharma Mittra on his DVD "Maha Sadhana Level 1".
What DVD are you using?
Finally: Practice often. Once a week for half an hour is not so good. Not that no practice would be better, but it will take you forever to get over the initial stiffness. Try to practice everyday, even if it's just half an hour. Make sure not to underestimate Tadasana and Shavasana, two Asanas that seem quite simple, but are very important. Read all you find about these and ask questions here if any arise.
[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;28583]Hi Eve,
I have one tip.
Try to maintain compete self-acceptance for that which you can do and that which you cannot, that which is challenging and that which is easy. Try to approach your practice as something you genuinely enjoy experiencing no matter how the practice goes.[/QUOTE]
i will need a lot of self-acceptance… i was so disappointed in myself when workout for beginners was so hard for me…
but i hope it will get better with time
Quetzalcoatl:
thanks for links! i will try to find out more about yoga
unfortunately i’m not able to have a personal teacher… i have to find my way to yoga on my own…
the DVD that i’m using is “Rodney Yee’s Yoga for beginners” but i think its too fast for me…
and another problem: my matt is so slippery…
so thank You for all the replys keep fingers crossed
Self-acceptance is a far more beneficial fruit from the practice than being able to perform the postures. Without self-acceptance the postures become pointless gymnastics.
Find a DVD that teaches you alignment. Patricia Walden might be a good starting point.
Run a few inches of warm water in your bath tub, slide your mat in there, use a few drops of Dr. Bronner’s Liquid soap and suds the whole slippery surface. Rinse it then roll it up in a beach towel then hang it for a day to dry.
Hello Eve,
I started out with Jason Crandell’s “Morning” podcast from yogajournal.com. It is intended to be a gentle wake up routine. The first few times I did it I my arms and legs were shaking, and I had to take 2-3 breaks, during a 25 minute or so practice! And I was not unused to exercise, or in so-called “bad shape”. It might have been a month or so before I could complete it without darn near dying. So just “keep on keeping on”, and it will all come to you.
Good luck and namaste.
Hi eve89.
unfortunately i'm not able to have a personal teacher... i have to find my way to yoga on my own...
Then don't forget to be smart and careful.
the DVD that i'm using is "Rodney Yee's Yoga for beginners" but i think its too fast for me...
I don't know this particular DVD, but I've seen some of Rodney's many productions. He does some Iyengar-Vinyasa-Yoga-style, which means that he has one Asana flow into the next one, with only remaining in a pose for a short time (one or two breaths I'd guess). This is very difficult for a beginner, because those are still quite stiff and not yet familiar with the single poses. They therefore will need much longer than the expert on telly to get into an Asana, align the bodyparts and then feel the posture.
So it's nothing to worry about that you cannot keep up with the pace. It's not a bad sign or anything. You should not even try to practice along the presentation, better switch it off at all. You should, and InnerAthlete is pointing to that, at first learn each Asana on it's own and be occupied with each Asana for several minutes instead of only seconds.
To get to know the Asanas, find out their Sanskrit names. Knowing the Sanskrit names (like Tadasana, Trikonasana, etc.) is equally helpful as knowing the Latin names for bones and muscles and other body-parts, they're international and pretty much unified, so you can do a better search on them. So find out the names and go on a websearch. Most beginner's stuff is extensively explained, including in-depth videos on Youtube. I found this channel quite helpful:
Click on the number behind "Uploads", the Asana-videos are further down. And don't worry about the language, I don't understand it either, just turn the sound off. There are a lot more channels with helpful material, so check out a good number.
Here are some websites that explain Asanas with pictures and text:
http://www.yogaartandscience.com/poses/poses.html
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/browse_categories
http://health.indianetzone.com/yoga/hathyoga/1/asanas_in_hatha_yoga.htm
http://yogadancer.com/Asana.shtml
http://www.santosha.com/asanas.html
And again: I'd suggest you get a DVD by a greater master than young Rodney is. He's sure good at what he's doing there, but charisma-wise it's a very different story. Search for "Dharma Mittra" on Youtube and watch some of his, you should notice the difference instantly. Some examples:
Such a beautiful human being. So inspiring. I love him. 
Hi Eve,
Some days can feel harder than others too. And the slippy mat would have made a few poses twice as challenging!
Go easy on yourself.