My life long best friend chose to drag me to my first very first yoga class. I didn’t know I would love it like I did, or that it would forever change my life like it did. Beginning a yoga practice can seem confusing or even intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. Here is a compilation of advice, tips, and suggestions that I hope will better guide you through the start of your yoga journey or re-inspire you to keep going.

We breath and move for a reason.

Yoga is a practice. It’s something you work on little by little. Yoga literally means ‘union’. It’s a practice of ones ability to synchronize breath and movement in order to quiet the inner dialogue of the mind. The practice of moving into inner stillness. Whether you’re practicing with videos at home or in a studio setting- pay special attention to the breath cues and how they coordinate with the movements. We might hold the posture but we never hold the breath, which will make you not only tired but it tenses the body. It will also better help your body to open properly if you use inhales to prepare or lengthen and exhales to release or deepen.

2. Yoga is awesome because its customizable to the student and the day.

I first loved yoga partly because I found it to be the perfect work out. I could practice everyday regardless of how my body felt because there are so many ways to modify or to deepen. If you’re naturally stiff as a board you can start out modifying but even for the seasoned yogi there will be days that areas of the body just aren’t having it, and still yoga has a suitable option for it. It will always cater to your needs as long as you listen to your body giving it what it asks for.

3. It’s not a competition, it’s not a performance. Ignore distractions around you.

You might have played a sport all of your life or maybe you just have a competitive personality, but I need you to know that yoga isn’t a show. I found myself gawking over the ‘peacock’ in every class I went to. The student that could press handstand or get their foot to head in pigeon. And where it’s okay to be inspired by another practice, it shouldn’t make you feel any less about your own. Also don’t let those advanced practitioners take away from your presence on your mat. Try to close your eyes or steady your gaze. Focus on your breath and the sensations happening in your body. Yoga is a venturesome journey through the center of yourself. I can tell you right now from personal experience that when you let go of the physical aspect (still challenging oneself but not obsessing over results) and truly work on creating inner stillness-its quite magical what the body ends up being capable of.

4. Try out different studios and yoga styles to find what is best suited for you.

There are so many lineages of yoga, styles of class and studio. If you’ve tried yoga before and did not feel like it was for you, WAIT. Don’t give up because of one experience. Some people have a home yoga practice, or prefer watching videos online (I will be uploading my first Youtube video next week!!!! Stay tuned!!) and some people enjoy attending public classes at a studio or community center. When starting your yoga journey I think it’s important to try a few different things to get a feel or what you like best or what works best with your body and lifestyle. For example I teach two styles of yoga currently, one is a stationary series that works balance, flexibility, and stability. I also teach a vinyasa style where the poses flow one to the next creating seamless movement with a faster pace; building strength, flexibility, and stamina. There is also restorative styles of yoga that focus on relaxing and opening the body gently, which can be complementary to hectic or high stress lifestyles.

5. If you’ve thought about it, do it! If you've started and want to continue, keep going! When you don’t feel like it, show up!

My biggest pet peeve is when people say yoga isn’t for them because they aren’t flexible. Well I am here to tell you that when I started practicing I could hardly touch my toes nevertheless do the splits. But thats part of why we practice, to slowly and gently open the body day by day. Yoga is WORK! You get out of it what you put in. Through your practicing, know that the poses you look least forward to are more than likely what your body needs the most. One of the foremost yoga teachers Iyengar says “The pose begins when you want to leave it” meaning that the work lies in that exact moment that we want to leave. For transformation to happen, we have to get uncomfortable. Show up to your mat over and over. Show up when your happy, show up when you are sad. Show up when you’re tired, cranky, blissful, or downright heated. Some days we fidget and squirm. There will be practices where the mind wanders off a thousand times, but that is practicing yoga. Returning to the breath. Stepping back on your mat. There is something that can be learned in those restless moments, it teaches us about our existence. We have such an aversion to our present experience when it doesn’t match what we conjured up in our heads. So when you start to feel uncomfortable in a posture, pause. Can you stay? Pause. Can you continue to breath?. Pause. Internally can you sit with what is sad, difficult, tragic, or hurtful? Pause. Breath. Can you let these experiences transform you instead of break you? It all begins within.

My wish is that I have resonated with you in some way, or at least inspired you to get on your mat. If you’re interested in videos you can watch at home, I will be posting my first video to my Youtube channel next week. Please leave me your thoughts and comments on this post as well as any suggestions to what kind of video you would like me to make first.

From my heart to yours, Namaste