If you’ve wanted to begin a yoga practice but feel intimidated and don’t know where to start, have no fear! This yoga for beginners guide has everything you need to get started and succeed!
Yoga has so many benefits. Its is all about connecting your mind and body through movement and breath. Some people use yoga as purely physical exercise, some use it as a way to release tension and anxiety, and others view it as more of spiritual practice and a journey into the self.
With that being said, western yoga is not affiliated with any religion, and there are no particular beliefs you need to have to practice it—just show up with your mat and get your yoga on.
Below you’ll learn the different types and benefits of yoga as well as guidance on how to get started and choose the practice that will be best for you!
Different Types of Yoga
There is no one-size-fits-all yoga practice. The yoga class for you is the one that brings you what you’re looking for. Some days you may really want to sweat it out, and a hot yoga class is for you, and other days you may choose a yin yoga class to hold poses for longer periods of time and really get a deep stretch. Check out each of these yoga types and see which will be a good fit for you.
Hatha
As stated earlier, Hatha is somewhat of a blanket term when it comes to yoga—it just refers to linking poses with breath. What’s called Hatha yoga today, however, is usually set to a bit slower pace, requiring you to hold each pose for longer than, say, a Vinyasa class.
Hatha classes are great for both beginners and yogis who want to deepen their practice because holding the poses for longer helps you sink into each of them and ensure proper alignment.
Vinyasa
Vinyasa classes are more fast-paced, with the idea that you are synchronizing movement with breath and learning to work your way through a series of poses in a fluid manner.
Vinyasa offers a vigorous movement with a continuous “flow” from one posture to the next. This style will be more dynamic and athletic in nature to hit the person searching for more of a “workout” rather than a time for relaxation.
Check out our free 10-Minute Vinayasa Flow Workout to try it for yourself.
Ashtanga
Ashtanga classes use the same series of poses for every class. You have to master the first series before going onto the second, and so on, making it ideal for perfectionists.
Beginners might want to dip their toe in Vinyasa or Hatha before going to an Ashtanga class.
Yin Yoga
Yin yoga requires you to hold poses for several minutes at a time, requiring you to really soften and relax your muscles to target deeper connective tissue and fascia.
Yin yoga is a more meditative class than the others, but it can have wonderful benefits for both your muscles and your mind.
Kundalini
A Kundalini yoga class is a little different, incorporating intense breath work and even chanting or meditation. The purpose of kundalini yoga is more centered around elevating your consciousness and activating energy centers or chakras in your body.
Bikram Yoga
Bikram yoga includes a specific sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises—it also has to take place in a heated room. The added heat is said to help your body stretch deeper, detoxify better, relieve stress, and can also help with chronic pain.
Vinyasa classes are sometimes heated as well, but typically when you think “hot yoga” it’s a bikram class.
The Mind-Body Benefits of Yoga
There are countless benefits of yoga, and most of them apply to your mind and body simultaneously. When we hold tension, trauma, stress, or fear in our bodies, it causes not only mental distress but physical problems as well.
So many physical ailments are made worse from (if not directly caused by) stress, from tension headaches to digestive problems and more.
Here are just a few high-level benefits you’ll get from a regular yoga practice:
- Strengthens your muscles
- Reduces stress
- Increases range of motion and flexibility
- Boosts circulation
- Reduces inflammation
- Improves focus and concentration
- Alleviates chronic pain
- Improves your balance
- Helps you sleep better
- Read all the 25 Benefits Of A Daily Yoga Practice
When tension is relieved from your body and mind, your overall health improves. Incorporating yoga into your weekly workout routine can help your muscles and mind recover, which is so important for a well-balanced fitness regimen.
How To Quiet Your Mind For Yoga
Yoga is not only physically challenging but mentally challenging as well. In fact, perhaps one of the hardest parts of a yoga practice is learning how to quiet the mind in moments of stillness. While different yoga styles offer different things, almost all of them will incorporate moments of stillness or meditation.
Many classes incorporate this part at the end, where you’ll wrap up your practice in the savasana or “corpse” pose. Some newbies find savasana (usually the last part of a class) the hardest part of yoga—it looks something like this:
- you lie on your back in gentle relaxation
- the instructor will help you find a quiet breathing pattern
- you be encouraged to listen to the sound of your breath
- listening to your own breathing helps draw attention away from your busy mind
- for those who have difficulty, it help to find a mantra, or phrase, that you can repeat with each breath. Something simple like “Just be” or “I am grateful.” The repetition matched with the breath is very soothing
Just like in meditation, it’s important to remember during a yoga class to let your thoughts come and go. We all have a “monkey mind,” as they call it, where our thoughts jump around chaotically but don’t judge yourself—become the peaceful observer of your thoughts and watch them come and go.
Learning to quiet your mind during yoga or meditation takes practice, so allow yourself to be a beginner and do the best you can.
Best Yoga Poses For Beginners
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Mom and Baby Yoga Practice
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Yoga For Improved Sleep
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Bedtime Yoga For Better Sleep
The CDC reports an estimated 50-70 million Americans have some type of sleep disorder. It might be trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, disturbed sleep. Whatever it is, we all need more sleep. One of the best natural remedies is a little stress relief at bedtime with some light yoga and breathing. It’s free, non-toxic, and
Yoga For Anxiety: 6 Best Poses To Give You Relief
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Your Perfect Morning and Nighttime Yoga Routines
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Low Back Yoga Stretches
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Yoga For Headache Relief
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History of Yoga
The practice of yoga can be traced back nearly 5,000 years, with some researchers suggesting it actually extends as far back as 10,000 years.
Yogic teachings were mentioned in the Rigveda, an ancient spiritual text. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which loosely translates to “to yoke,” “to unite,” or “to join,” and this makes sense when you consider how yoga was viewed during these early stages: as a means of uniting the physical body with the spiritual realm.
As centuries passed, yoga also became celebrated for its purely physical benefits—how it energizes and strengthens the body—. Still, to this day, the belief that yoga helps bring the mind and body into harmony is one of the biggest things that draws people to their mat.
By the beginning of the 1900s, yoga began to make its way west. There are many different type of yoga, but the form that initially took hold in the west is considered Hatha yoga.
Hatha is a general category that includes most of the yoga types we think of today, from Ashtanga to Iyengar. Hatha simply refers to practicing poses (or asanas) and breathing exercises (called pranayama) to find balance, release tension, and calm the body and mind.