Yoga For Beginners

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

A member of this forum who is new to yoga recently stated:

this forum seems to be lacking a beginners program or any program at all…what stretches should i be doing?..how often…how long

I think that’s a fair statement and fair questions as well. In essence, where DOES someone who is new to yoga begin? Let me break this up into a few parts:

  1. If someone is new to yoga, where should they begin?

  2. If you’re a yoga teacher and get a new student, what sort of evaluation do you do of them?

  3. What should I be asking here on behalf of beginners but am now?

I ask all of this as I’d like to develop a guide for beginners to help them head in the right direction. As the wisdom of the community is shared, my hope is that it can be compiled in a manner where people who are new to yoga can head in the right direction.

#2

A person who desires to learn a subject in which they know nothing should seek out a skilled teacher to impart the subject. Would one walk into a butcher shop to learn vascular surgery? Would one stroll down the tooth brush aisle of a local drug store and expect to emerge as a dentist? So I suggest they begin doing some light “shopping” (read: research) on the three closest studios.

  • formulate 4-5 questions on teachers, style, training.
  • call all three studios and feel their response
  • choose one based on the residue of the call (the yoga has thus begun)
  • visit, 6-8 classes designed for beginners or fundamentals
  • sit quietly after each class, look within, feel the leftovers

New students are very easy to spot in class. They almost always need a bit more attention than other students but I don’t dwell on them. Why? Because the first thing a new student needs is an experience of being in their body, period. Adjusting them turns them off and it is pointless as they will not be able to retain the information in their body tissue. Adjustments for beginners are limited to safety issues. Teachers who have been trained to see, see ALL students in class, not just beginners.

I think it would be profoundly helpful to outline what students should look for in a quality teacher or venue (both actually). Most students will not find all of the things outlined within such a document. But finding more of them rather than less of them is very helpful.

I wouldn’t ask anything on their behalf. A student has to conjure up enough internal brew to act. That acting (here) is coming out from the shadows and not only engaging the community in relationship but also in communicating their own questions, thoughts, needs.

gordon

#3

I would fully agree with InnerAthlete that one should seek a very skilled teacher, and also with the others things he said.

I remember when i attended my first yoga class, i felt bored by the class, and thought it was like middle aged women stretching… and needless to say did not go back to this teacher.

But i was lucky that 6 months later something drew me back to ‘try yoga again’ and this time the minute i walked into the yoga room i could ‘feel the difference’ and there was nobody in the room other than the teacher himself. He was a Swami and had dedicated his life to yoga. I had been practiced meditation almost daily for a prior 10 years, and ‘knew’ that this place i had entered was right for me.

I would add that it is a good idea to try to match what it is ‘you think’ you are looking for, to the form of yoga that you try first.

So if you are over 40 years of age with a bad back and are looking for stress reduction and inner relaxation i would not recommend Ashtanga yoga. I would probably be recommending Satyanada yoga or maybe a Sivinanda yoga teacher provided they had many years of experience.

If you are 20 years of age, quite hyper in your behaviour and at this stage of your life are really hooked on fitness and getting a good workout, i would probably not recommend you to try Satyananda yoga first… and instead may be recommending you to find a good ashtanga teacher who also practices meditation themselves and tries to bring ‘an awareness’ and appreciation of the wider aspects of yoga outside the usual ‘hatha focus’.

It is very often the first steps we take with a teacher than can either inspire us to go further, or sometimes may even lead us astray.

I wish you well in finding a good teacher for you.

Best Wishes,
Dave