Yoga for Beginner: How to take those first steps into Yoga

Yoga is everywhere these days. From John Cena to Madonna, to maybe even your next-door neighbor, everyone is pinned upon a fitness craze and with a good cause. As a sort of physical activity, Yoga indeed is a force to be reckoned with. But just how can one go about using yoga for a beginner? I believe that as a Yoga enthusiast, this article will help in this regard.

If you are practicing yoga as a beginner or have been considering learning yoga, we wish to provide you with some useful and valuable tips which can help you in practicing yoga as a beginner.

I have been doing Yoga for quite some time now, 6 years to be specific. Since the first day, I have affirmed free weights and exercise machines. My use of Yoga and other bodyweight exercises like Hindu-Push ups (in my honest view a Yoga derivative) has been the main way of keeping fit in addition to my diet which co-incidentally changed when I began Yoga as a beginner 6 years ago.

I will now enumerate the yoga poses to learn as a beginner which can help or supplement your knowledge from your yoga classes, books, and or DVDs.

Yoga for Beginner: Main Yoga Poses to Learn first

The Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar)

This is the core of Yoga itself. This exercise is a blend of Yoga Poses, Breathing exercises, Sun Bathing, and Prayer. It is the warm-up of a yoga class or personal yoga session and is a combination of poses, 12 to be precise, that are performed in a synchronized movement with an emphasis on rhythmic breathing.

They mildly exercise the arms and legs and are often recommended for obesity, depression, and fitness. Friends, several Martial Artists, and Indian and African Wrestlers perform tons of rounds of these exercises alone. So in learning yoga, for beginners, this will be a guaranteed must-know.

The Shoulder Stand (Sarvangasana)

Don’t be scared by the name at all. Even for a beginner, this yoga pose is a piece of cake, actually. It is really a very important pose though, arguably the most important. Its Sanskrit name (Sarvangasana) actually means all members or all limbs pose, meaning it affects all parts of the body.

As a beginner, be aware that some poses (including this one) do have specific counterposes. Therefore if you are taking a Yoga for a beginner class or learning from a DVD, make sure you are taught these poses to counteract and balance the effects of the Shoulder-stand pose on the body, these are the Bridge and fish poses.

Here is a hint or ratio to adhere to in their combined execution: 6:1:2, indicating the bridge and fish poses should hold for a sixth and third of the time you spend in the Shoulder-stand Pose respectively.

The Corpse Pose (Savasana)

You’ve got to learn this Yoga Pose as a beginner. It is the relaxation pose that is usually performed during and after your session. It is a means of relaxing the muscles used for your yoga exercise. At the end of a session, it is usually done for about 15 minutes and one always comes out feeling refreshed after its execution.

Other Poses to Include

Arguably, these are the 3 main poses you have to lay emphasis on in learning yoga for a beginner. Although there are other poses you should incorporate as you go further. They are

The forward Bending exercises: Head to Knee pose, Plough Pose, and Wind relieving pose.

The Back Bending Exercises: The Bow, Inclined Plane, and Wheel Poses.

Spinal Twists.

The Exercises in Sitting and Standing Positions.

Balancing Exercises: The Peacock, Side plank, Crow, and 4-limbed staff poses.

The Abdominal and Breathing Exercises.

Each of these groups may have some variations on the root poses. However, let me tell you a secret that would go a long way in aiding you as a beginner in learning Yoga. Do at least 24 rounds of the before-mentioned Sun Salutations and the ease in executing these poses will come almost naturally. Guaranteed.

There are various styles of Yoga to pick from and in seeking the right style of Yoga for a beginner. It is truly difficult to pick the best.

Yoga for Beginner: Selection of Yoga Programs

There are various styles of Yoga to pick from and in seeking the right style of Yoga for a beginner. It is truly difficult to pick the best.

However, Iyengar Yoga appears to involve a lot of props that can help till flexibility is re-gained or enhanced. It is one of the easier choices to pick. Kripalu and Bikram Yoga are also quite easy to choose from as well as for a beginner.

To find the best yoga for beginner classes around you, you can always check your local YMCA or YWCA branches as they almost always carry information on Yoga classes for all stages: from beginner to intermediate.

Another factor that I must emphasize is the need to further pick up a Yoga diet for health and help these poses to both strengthen and detoxify you. As a result of the symbiotic relationship that exists between Yoga and a proper diet, this will speed up an increase in fitness, weight loss, focus, and the ability to perform these poses easily.

Beginners may learn Yoga from a certified instructor. However, your own practice will remain paramount for your mastery of this kind of physical culture and there are tons of books and DVDs to help in regard to this.

Moreover, keep in mind that as a beginner doing yoga, not unless you plan to do lots of Sun Salutations as mentioned above, you may still want to include some body-weight resistance poses that co-incidentally are still Yogic in origin. Hindu-Push-ups and Squats and the Bridge (now this is and the first one are basically Yoga poses in motion friends…).

Diet for Yoga Beginners

One of the basic things about yoga, together with the positive attitude, is the diet. It is highly recommended to do your yoga session after around 2 hours from the main meal. Also, it is important to remember the things we consume, to prevent diseases and discomforts.

It is not necessary to stop non-vegetarian diets for starting yoga. However vegetarian diet is highly recommended for holistic yoga exercise. According to reliable studies, a truly diversified diet describes the ideal food for any human organism. However, your daily meals should include fruits and vegetables, containing vitamins and fibers.

More than a simple energy source, food is also a means of purifying one’s body and soul. Together with the variety of exercises, yoga trainers encourage the practitioners to follow a wise diet, based mainly on natural food.

Best diet for Yoga to Help Improve Your Yoga Practice

Consider the following:

• Drink 10 to 12 glasses of water every day. Drink water half an hour before meals. Drinking one or two glasses of water when you wake up is excellent for your health.
• Any type of Fresh fruits, mainly those that are naturally sweet. Use fresh seasonal fruits.
• All fresh vegetables consumed raw constitute salad. Fresh cucumber, carrots, beetroot, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, etc. are used for preparing salad.
• Natural, raw sugar, molasses, maple.
• Herbal teas, water with lemon and/or lime.
• Sweet spices, like cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom, ginger, mint, cumin, basil, and fennel.
• Use plant-based oils, like olive oil, sesame, and sunflower.
• Whole grains, especially wheat, rice, and oats.

Avoid the following:

• Always avoid Microwaved foods, junk foods, and fried foods.
• Avoid canned foods, except naturally canned tomatoes and fruit.
• Avoid white sugar and white flour.
• Elude alcohol, tobacco, and stimulants.
• Avoid drinking water with food.
• Avoid tea and coffee.
• Stop Overeating or wrong dietary habits.
• Avoid onions, garlic, spicy foods, or cooked foods.

This combination will see that till you have mastered the use of Yoga poses to make a complete session, you are still burning up enough calories and exercising the muscles for both weight loss and fitness.

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