I've been wanting to start doing Yoga for a while now, and finally got around to buying a book for beginners. I gotta learn from a book since I can't afford classes right now. Did anyone else learn or at least start off by book? Any tips?
take it very slow lots of warm baths yoga is not about competition, even with yourself placement is everything do a minimum, not a maximum do it four times a week, not six do it for years, not months stay warm, not hot placement moderation set no goals beyond practice for its own sake
yoga is good for everything, provided you use your good sense and don't push and pull problem areas, but yes, anyone can benefit from the subtle lengthening and strengthening in doing some yoga sets each week.
I am very interesting in starting yoga too and also without going to a class for it Sounds like good advice to me chodpa Hope there will be some more practical tips!
Some technical assistance then. Every movement is held within the breath. We expand within the inhale and contract within the exhale. That is, begin the breath before the initiation of movement and end the movement before you reach the full extent of either inhalation or exhalation. Do not hold the breath under pressure. In this way, using the breath as a guide, you can insure that you do not exceed your current moments capacity. Learn to practice with glottal stop breathing, ujjayi breath. Breath slowly and evenly. uneven breathing is a sign to slow down or lessen exertion. Always after every breath or movement, observe the sensation that follows.
I have tried and quit so many times for this reason and this reason alone: I cannot achieve a proper lotus position, I can half-ass the half-lotus. My hip flexibility is dismal and despite many efforts, I get frustrated after a month and quit. My hips just won't open up. If anyone here has overcome this, I would be eternally grateful for any advice.
While lotus provides a stable base for meditation it is not a necessary pose. All poses may be adapted to body type, adapted for injury, or adapted for special circumstance like pregnancy, obesity, or advanced age. Never force but always relax into extension with the aid of the breath. Further lotus is not a hip opening exercise but a posture to explore when and if your hips, knees, and ankles are sufficiently strengthened. Any position where the soles of your feet are together and the knees allowed to spread apart with the assistance of gravity, works to open the hips and sacrum. Laying down or sitting up with arms in various positions. Never force but always relax into extension with the aid of the breath. Counter pose by bringing knees together slowly against the force of gravity.
When I first started doing yoga a few years ago I learned from a book. The book I learned from was great. It was an old book, one of my mom's from the 1970s so i can't remember the name or how to go about finding it. It was realy good for beginners because it outlined learning yoga in a month's time. It started with the most basic yoga poses for different body parts and gradually added in more complicated poses and meditation techniques. I've tried to use other books since then but found most books more difficult because they just throw a ton of poses together and there's no real guide to building upon what you learn every day. I quit doing yoga for a while and just started back again using yoga videos on youtube. I really like this lady https://www.youtube.com/user/yogayak
Lotus means something? We here in the West who are used to sitting in chairs don't have the bodies for comfortable lotus, unlike people in the East who sit cross legged on the ground from birth. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's not about looking cool but doing what's right for your body for once. Do what you body needs, not what your mind wants. This is hatha yoga. Union of balance within positions.
