How To Get The Most From Your Yoga Practice
November 29th, 2009 8:33 amYoga is beneficial for the body in so many ways: it increases flexibility and muscle strength, it reduces stress and improves mental and emotional health, and it helps normalize bodily functions. People who start practicing yoga generally do so in expectation of these health benefits. While any regular practice of yoga will create improvements in the body, there are ways of maximizing the progress you can make in your yoga.
Aim to arrive at your yoga class several minutes early to avoid rushing and to relax into a good yoga mindset. When you rush in at the last minute, it takes much longer to get into the flow of things, and you don’t get as much from the class as you could. If you have time for a drink of water or a trip to the bathroom, and maybe time for a stretch or brief meditation, you’ll be able to start your class in the right frame of mind.
Find an intention to focus on during your yoga class. Such an intention may be something like developing greater calm in volatile situations, becoming more tolerant and loving, enjoying healthy nourishing foods, or maybe taking more time for spiritual practices. Provided the intention is positive and reflects the tenets of yoga it is a good intention.
It’s important to let your instructor know if you’re suffering from any injury or recovering from illness, so they can advise which poses may not be suitable, and offer substitutions, and they can assist if you run into trouble. Those new to the practice of yoga need to let their instructor know, also, as there will be poses that could cause strain or injury in first timers. It is important to remember that it takes time to become proficient at yoga, just like anything else. It’s necessary to recognize and work within your limitations while you’re a beginner. Unfortunately, those who attempt too much too soon often end up doing more harm than good, which goes against the healing principles of yoga.
It’s a nice idea to take time after practicing yoga to contemplate the class. It’s all too easy to step out of the yoga class and throw yourself headlong back into the rush of life, forgetting the whole reason for doing yoga. If you can maintain the peace and serenity gained in the class for sometime afterwards, it’s very beneficial. It can take a long time for beginners to learn all the yoga poses. If a beginner can take the time to focus on remembering just one or two new poses each class, it won’t be long before they’ve mastered the basics.
Don’t eat for at least two to three hours before attending a yoga class, firstly because digestion takes energy and can make you lethargic, but also because cramps and nausea are an unfortunate result of performing some yoga poses too soon after eating (generally forward bends and twists which utilize the midsection).
Beginning a yoga class with the correct mindset is one way of maximizing yoga sessions, and so is focusing for the class on a positive intention, which can distract the mind from outside worries. Along with taking the right attitude to your yoga class, it’s just as important to maintain positivity and peace afterwards.
Ana Paula Hernandez suffered back pain for years, before learning a few basic yoga poses and practising them regularly. Now she’s pain free and teaches yoga to hundreds of students each week.
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