Yoga is all around us these days. From Sting to Madonna, to maybe even your next-door neighbour, everyone is hooked upon this fitness craze and with good cause. As a form of physical exercise, Yoga indeed is a force to be reckoned with. But just how can one go about using yoga for beginners? It is my hope that as a Yoga practitioner and enthusiast, this article will be of assistance in this regard.
If you have been considering learning yoga or have recently
begun a yoga practice, I hope to provide you with some useful and helpful tips
in which may be helpful to you in using yoga for beginners.
I have been doing Yoga for quite some time now, 6 years to
be a more exact, my use of Yoga and other body weight exercises like Hindu-Push
ups (in my opinion a Yoga derivative) has been one of the main methods for
keeping fit.
I will now enumerate the yoga poses to be learned as a
starter which can aid or supplement your knowledge from your yoga classes,
books and or DVD’s.
Yoga for Beginners: Yoga Poses to Learn first.
The Sun Salutations: Okay, this is the core of Yoga itself.
This exercise is a combination of Yoga Poses, Breathing exercise, 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 exact, that are performed in a synchronized
motion with emphasis on rhythmic breathing. They mildly exercise the arms and
legs and are often recommended for obesity, depression and fitness. Friends,
several Martial Artists, Indian and African Wrestlers perform tons of rounds of
these exercises alone, so in learning yoga, for beginners, this will be a
must-know.
The Shoulder Stand: Don’t be intimidated by the name at all.
Even for a beginner, this yoga pose is a piece of cake, really. It is actually
a very important pose though, arguably the most important as its Sanskrit name
(Savangasana) actually means the “all members” or “all limbs” pose, meaning it
affects all parts of the body. As a beginner, be aware that some poses (such as
this one) do have specific counter poses, so if you’re taking a Yoga for
beginner class or learning from a DVD, make sure you are taught these poses to
counter-act and balance the effects of the Shoulder-stand pose on the body,
these are the Bridge and fish poses. Here’s a hint or ratio to adhere to in
their combined execution: 6:1:2, meaning the ‘bridge’ and ‘fish’ poses should
be held for a sixth and third of the time you spend in the Shoulder-stand Pose
respectively.
The Corpse Pose: You’ve got to learn this Yoga Pose as a
beginner. It is the relaxation pose that is usually executed during and after
your session as 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 (but of course
you can make it fit your own time).
Arguably, these are the 3 main poses you have to lay
emphasis on in learning yoga for a beginner, but there are other poses that
should be included as you go further. They are
1. The forward Bending exercises: Head to Knee pose, Plough
Pose and Wind reliving pose
2. The Back Bending Exercises: The Bow, Inclined Plane and
Wheel Poses.
3. The Spinal Twists
4. The Balancing Exercises: The Peacock, Crow, Side Plank
and 4-limbed staff Poses
5. The Exercises in Sitting and Standing Positions
6. The Abdominal and Breathing Exercises.
Each of these groups has several variations on the root
poses; however, let me tell you a secret that would go a long way in aiding you
as a beginner learning Yoga. Do at least 24 round of the previously mentioned
Sun Salutations and the ease in executing these poses will come almost
naturally.
There are several styles of Yoga to pick from and in seeking
the right style of Yoga for a beginner; it might be quite difficult to pick the
best. However, since Iyengar Yoga seems to involve a lot of props that can aid
till flexibility is re-gained or enhanced, it may be one of the easier choices
to pick. Kripalu and Bikram Yoga may also be quite easy to pick up as well as a
beginner.
To find the best yoga for beginner class 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.
One other factor that I must stress is the need to also pick
up a Yoga diet for health and aiding these poses to both strengthen and
detoxify you. This will-as a result of the symbiotic relationship that exists
between Yoga and a proper diet-speed up an increase in fitness, weight loss,
focus and the ability to execute these poses easily.
Though Yoga for beginners may best be learned from a
certified instructor, your own practice will remain paramount for your mastery
of this form of physical culture and there are tons of books and DVD’s to help
in regards to this. Moreover, keep in mind that as a beginner doing yoga, not
unless you intend to do lots of Sun Salutations as mentioned above, you may
still want to incorporate some body-weight resistance poses (that
co-incidentally are still Yogic in origin) such as the Hindu-Push-ups and
Squats and the Bridge (now this is and the first one are basically Yoga poses
in motion).
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.
Doing Yoga is fun, exhilarating and extremely rewarding for
lots of reasons that may have already got you researching about it, so needless
to say, choosing this exercise, even as a beginner, will go a long way into
making for a fitter and healthier you.
Disclaimer: This article is to be used for informational
purposes only and is not intended to be used as professional medical advice. It
should not be used in place of, or in conjunction with, a doctor or dietician’s
recommendation. Prior to beginning any nutritional or physical exercise
program, individuals should consult with their physician.
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