Yoga - How to Get Started

Have you at any point thought about getting into yoga, and why ? Fashionable ? Everyone's into it ? Friends are into it? Weight-loss ? Shape-up ? Workout ? Well if those were the reasons, then you'll be disappointed. Before you jump into the bandwagon, be clear of your purpose.


Purpose
One key reason most people hope to get out of the practice of yoga is stress relief. I got into yoga with the hope of getting rid of migrains, which I suppose could be contributed by stress. That was 2 years ago. I spent about 6 months of 1 hourly/week session in a small studio, run by a single yoga instructor.
Being pretty confident of my own body flexibility, I could manage most of the asanas. Even though I could do the postures with ease, there was little understanding of the purpose or benefits of each of those postures. The instructor was more focused on guiding the asanas than imparting knowledge of each posture. I was hungry for information and sought from books and internet. For 6 months, after each yoga session, I felt that my neck stiffness was still there, a heavy head still lingered and my migrain did not leave me. I guess the stress was not relieved. Soon I quit and practised on my own whatever I learnt from various sources, and whatever I felt comfortable and relieving.


The Complete Yoga Practice - Choosing the Right Guru
Traditional yoga practice has breathing, asanas and cleansing in its teachings. And meditation is a very important part of yoga practice often overlooked in most yoga sessions due to lack of time. Therefore, having the right guru to guide in these practices is so important.
I soon found a guru who champions the traditional yoga practices. In a 1 hour and half session, there are warmup exercise, sun salutation, various asanas, breathing exercises and finally relaxation. The warmup exercise consists of ankle rotation, wrists rotation, something that you can't find from the books but important parts to strengthen. The guru also spends about 15mins imparting concepts and the meaning of yoga practices to the students for greater understanding and appreciation of this path. The guru also should be able to identify each student's degree of flexibility to chart out a gradual advancement in preparing to learn a specific asana.


Personalization
Having a small class is important to get personal attention and personalization from the guru. I once heard from a fellow student that her previous yoga instructor from a fitness centre called the students by the colour of their attire .. Ms White, Ms Pink, Ms Black .. how awful ! If your guru calls you by your name, at least it matters to her who you are. The class that I attended had only 4 of us !