Hello all!
I am brand new to the world of yoga, and I was hoping to find here a mentor of sorts who can help me begin this journey into physical, mental and spiritual well-being. A dear friend of mine teaches yoga here in Richmond, and I’ve been to only two of her Hatha yoga sessions.
I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive, so I don’t like getting into new things without an understanding of the structure behind it all. 
Thanks!
Welcome! This forum is full of people from all different traditions, so you’ll be able to get a wide view of the different structures available to seekers of this path.
What do you like about yoga?
What are you biggest questions?
Well, I have an array of reasons for wanting to make yoga a part of my life. The physical aspect - I want to take care of my body by engaging in these stretches and releasing tension. Mental - I suffer from mild depression, and I’d like to see the meditative aspect of yoga help me to clear my mind instead of relying on SSRIs. Spiritual - … I don’t know. I feel some spiritual tie with this, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. If that makes any sense at all.
So, I suppose seeing as these are the “wants” that I have with this, where to begin? How do I make this a routine practice, and what do I do to incorporate all of these “wants” to achieve my goal?
YOU are the structure behind it all.
Hello!
Not long ago I was like you, new to yoga, but also nervous about trying things that I don’t full understand. So I just started practicing regularly. I had a teacher that made me feel welcome as a total beginner, safe, but also that challenged me and helped me progress. Sometimes with just a few words. I don’t fully ‘understand’ yoga, but I find something in it that works for me so I feel less nervous than a year or so ago. I think it’s easier to practice with other people because especially at the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I was doing and it stressed me out and kind of defeated the purpose. So here’s what I’d say to you: just do it and enjoy! Some things you won’t necessarily understand but it doesn’t matter. I’m sure you see a change in the your mind and body. Enjoy it! It’s fun!
[QUOTE=abcdyoga;68404]Hello!
Not long ago I was like you, new to yoga, but also nervous about trying things that I don’t full understand. So I just started practicing regularly. I had a teacher that made me feel welcome as a total beginner, safe, but also that challenged me and helped me progress. Sometimes with just a few words. I don’t fully ‘understand’ yoga, but I find something in it that works for me so I feel less nervous than a year or so ago. I think it’s easier to practice with other people because especially at the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I was doing and it stressed me out and kind of defeated the purpose. So here’s what I’d say to you: just do it and enjoy! Some things you won’t necessarily understand but it doesn’t matter. I’m sure you see a change in the your mind and body. Enjoy it! It’s fun! :)[/QUOTE]
ABCDYoga…a wonderful offering.
InSearchOfSelf,
Having someone in my family with OCD, I understand your need to know structure. But as Gordon says, YOU are the structure behind it all. And you can decide how much or how little you want to know or understand, at least in the beginning. A suggestion might be to ask your teacher friend to recommend a book or better yet to assist you perhaps one on one at home. This will make a transition to her class less stressful.
Well, I have an array of reasons for wanting to make yoga a part of my life. The physical aspect - I want to take care of my body by engaging in these stretches and releasing tension. Mental - I suffer from mild depression, and I’d like to see the meditative aspect of yoga help me to clear my mind instead of relying on SSRIs. Spiritual - … I don’t know. I feel some spiritual tie with this, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. If that makes any sense at all.
So, I suppose seeing as these are the “wants” that I have with this, where to begin? How do I make this a routine practice, and what do I do to incorporate all of these “wants” to achieve my goal?
InSearchOfSelf,
What a beautiful name you have taken! Just live it.
That search is a long journey and very soon yoga will not remain a ‘part’ of your life, it will be life! At least, Yoga offers that potential. You are quite on the track in recognizing Yoga’s effect on physical, mental and spiritual levels.
What’s most impressive is your take on ‘spiritual’ - neither blindly accepting it nor adamantly refusing it. Though physical, mental and spiritual aspects appear distinct they are inseparably one. It is our (human) need to classify things to be able to understand. Our ordinary awareness is capable of taking only a limited view of anything and that causes most of our problems.
For example, when we look at a flower, it appears as an object, as it is. Do we see it “growing” which it does every fraction of a second? Do we see what it was before becoming a flower or what it will be? Do we become aware of the reason why the flower is there? On questioning, we think. Likewise by practicing Yoga, we develop deeper, finer, richer awareness. Even when one does asanas, eventually one develops awareness of subtle things like relaxation, balance, flow, harmony etc which are not physical. Even a sense of ?feel good? or ?health? are subtle things. So, in my view, to say that one practices asanas and that has nothing to do with spirituality is refusing the wholeness of the experience, called Yoga. By seeing only what one wants to see, many Yoga practitioners remain in a state of denial only at their own loss.
In the same token, one cannot be ?only? spiritual in Yoga. A physical well-being and tranquil psyche are essential pre-requisites to spiritual awareness. In your search for Self (means the soul, I hope) let the expedition be balanced on all three fronts, let the fire remain kindled and let you meet your inner guru. Good luck.