Ing Words: Practice Practice Practice
An easy yoga sequence to teach is one youve practiced. Get to know how each of the postures and transitions feel in your own body. Youll quickly begin to realize where you can adjust your sequence to flow more fluidly. If you have a yogi friend you trust, practice the sequence on them so you can try different cues to get them in and out of postures. Practice as much as you can you will feel so much better feeling prepared.
Lastly, dont put so much pressure on yourself. There are benefits to repeating sequences so no need to create a new one for every single class. Just be yourself, there is no best yoga sequence anyways
What am I missing? What tips can you offer for building a yoga sequence? Do you have any yoga class sequence ideas to add?
What If I Need To Use The Bathroom During Class
If you have to use the bathroom, just quietly leave the room to go, says Bar. If you think its likely that youll need to excuse yourself during class, make sure you know where the restroom is, says Bar and place your mat in a part of the room that will make leaving and reentering the room as easy as possible.
Its okay if you need to duck out of the room if nature calls, Bar says. Part of practicing yoga is knowing what you need and taking care of yourself.
Breathing Exercises Or Pranayama
Controlling your breath is an integral part of yoga. The formal name for this practice is pranayama. Prana can be explained as life force, energy, or qi, while ayama is the Sanskrit word for extension.
Here are some of the basic pranayama practices to start you off in your yoga journey:
Ujjayi pranayama
Ujjayi pranayama is most commonly used in Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga. An ocean sound is created with this breathing technique by contracting the epiglottis, the leaf-shaped flap of cartilage located behind the tongue at the top of the voice box. This sound aims to anchor the mind during your practice.
Ujjayi technique:
Nadi Shodhanam pranayama
Nadi Shodhanam refers to alternate nostril breathing to slow down inhalation and the exhalation. This technique balances the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system to cultivate a state of internal tranquility, stability, and peace of mind, while balancing and regulating energy through the left and right side of the body.
Nadi Shodhanam technique:
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Why You Should Start With Easy Yoga Online
Heres the thing you might be surprised by how many people skip over yoga classes for beginners and go straight for something a little more advanced! This is especially true for aspiring yogis who have a background in other kinds of exercise. Knowing they already have a base level of strength, flexibility, and cardio fitness, theyll bypass an easy yoga class entirely.
We understand the temptation were only human, and we all love to prove ourselves sometimes! but we really would encourage you to kick off your yoga journey with an easy yoga class. Lets all set aside our pride and agree theres no shame in establishing a beginners yoga routine first, shall we? Youve gotta walk before you can run!
What Is The Connection Between Yoga Meditation And Breathwork
Pranayama, breath control, is a key component of yoga. Some breathing techniques, like kapalabhati, cleanse the body, while others build heat. And the more common ujjayibreath keeps us present. “Yoga teaches us to be here now, and what’s happening in the present moment is always the breath,” Bondy says.
Harding believes the breath serves as a “barometer.” She says, “If we’re struggling to breathe in a pose, then that’s the body telling us that we’ve gone too far.”
The state that deep, conscious breathing cultivates is enhanced by meditation, dhyana, another integral part of yoga.
In fact, the whole point of the physical practice was to “make the body supple enough to be able to sit upright in a meditation seat for hours on end,” Harding says.
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Tips For Your First Class
Listen to Your Instructor
It is a natural tendency to look around at other students to see if youre doing it correctly, but just LISTEN to the instructors cues and directions. You know your own body more than you think you do. Plus, listening rather than looking around will prevent any neck injuries when youre in certain postures.
Sit Front and Center
Sit in the middle or front row of the room. Trust me. Youre probably thinking, Absolutely not! I dont know what Im doing! But thats why you should sit closer up front! In yoga, were often in different poses that might require you look in different directions and sometimes it helps you see someone next to you or behind you.
Take Your Level
Throughout the class, if your instructor says Listen to your body it simply means to take your level into account! If youre new to yoga, perform modifications suggested by your instructor. It doesnt mean youre weak you just have to build your strength.
The Benefits Of Practicing Yoga
The benefits of yoga are almost endless! Practicing yoga helps build healthy virtues and good values, such as discipline, honesty, devotion, self-inquiry, mindfulness, and non-attachment. Yoga empowers you to make conscious choices toward living a more healthy and fulfilling life. Yoga also helps you:
- Help heal common aches like back pain
- Increase happiness and well being and reduce depression
- Lose weight and change your body shape
- Improve and maintain the health of muscles, joints, and organs
- Prevent conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and auto-immune disorders
- Improve flexibility, strength, stamina, mobility, range of motion, and balance
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How Much Do Online Yoga Classes Typically Cost
In general, online yoga classes are either free or part of a paid subscription service that can cost between roughly $10 and $30 per month. Live studio classes will run you about $25 to $35 per class, depending on the location, brand, and instructors experience. Purchasing a multiple course pack can bring the cost down significantly, but make sure you like the class before you invest hundreds of dollars. That said, most health clubs and gyms offer yoga classes in their lineup. You can also check with the local community or senior center for free yoga lessons.
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As yoga instructors, we are constantly challenged with coming up with new sequences and content to stand out in the crowded landscape. This can be exhausting. It takes continual practice, patience, and refinement week over week.
To create a yoga sequence is to create a work of art. Its not easily accomplished on a whim. The approach you take is crucial to the success of your class. Selecting each element with thoughtful and mindful consideration is a great place to start. Sharing this masterpiece is one of the greatest gifts of teaching It has the ability to change peoples lives!
But even with this incredible opportunity, come the unique challenges of sequencing.
The purpose of this article is to educate you on how to intelligently sequence a yoga class. This article is directed towards yoga sequences for teachers, but yoga students looking for inspiration in their home practice will also benefit.
I will show you my tried and tested formula on how to sequence a yoga class. Ill provide posture and transition examples, and you will learn more ideas to layer on top of a linear sequence. Youll walk away able to easily integrate what youve learned into your own class all in a safe and effective manner.
Whew.
Are you ready to dive in? Good. Me too.
Pin me Then keep reading!
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Getting Started With The First Consultation
Though it might appear intimidating, yoga is for everyone. As you deepen your practice, youll find that you have more energy, more mental focus, and an overall feeling of well being that overflows into other areas of your life. Now that youre ready to begin yoga classes, its time to call Zero Gravity Fitness in Ocoee, FL to schedule a free initial consultation.
How To Start Yoga
First step: decide where you want to start practicing yoga.
Do you want to go to a yoga studio and learn from a yoga instructor, in-person? Does your local gym or health club offer free yoga classes?
Or do you want to learn how to start yoga at home, using yoga videos or a yoga DVD?
Complete yoga newbies gain a lot from visiting a yoga studio. Yoga studios often boast the most experienced yoga teachers, and often offer a class of yoga for complete beginners.
Do a bit of research online. Are there any yoga studios in your area? What styles of yoga do they offer? It can be a bit daunting to read long lists of unfamiliar yoga styles, but dont freak out.
Weve got you covered.
The section below will guide you to choose the beginner style of yoga thats perfect for you.
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Focus On Personal Goals & Needs
Different people come to yoga for different reasons, all looking for some of the many benefits yoga has to offer based on their own personal needs. Maybe its your anxiety youre taking to manage or your lower back pain.
Perhaps youve tried a few different yoga classes and have simply struggled to find one that feels like a good fit for you.
With so many different types of yoga and an endless list of instructors, going through the process of trial and error can take quite some time.
When you opt for private yoga lessons, you avoid that long and difficult process completely. Thats because you can choose exactly how your yoga class works.
Talk to your private instructor about what youre looking for, and theyll craft a class schedule that fits your specifications.
This is also great for people who find it difficult to do certain poses due to injury or mobility problems.
A private instructor can modify your poses and select ones that work around your particular challenges.
Got Questions Here Is What You Need To Know
What are the best classes for beginners?
While youre welcome to take any class, most beginners find the Beginner Series the most helpful. Other classes that are a good starting point to exploring yoga for the first time are Yoga Basics, Yin Yoga, and Hatha classes. Once you feel ready, graduate to Yin Yang Fusion, Vinyasa Level 1 and onto Mixed Levels Vinyasa which is our most challenging class.
My first class was hard! What should I do?
If it were easy, everyone would do it! Give yourself at least 10 classes to get comfortable.
What temperature is the studio?
In general, the room is gently heated between 80 and 85 degrees to help increase flexibility and circulation.
Are there any class rules?
No Cell Phones: You deserve time to focus on you without distraction, so please silence your cell phone! We also ask that you are quiet in the yoga room so students can meditate and relax before class begins.
No Perfume or Cologne: Out of respect for your fellow classmates, we ask that you refrain from using perfumes or cologne while in the studio space.
Be On Time: The studio will open at least 15 minutes before class begins. Please be on time because the doors will lock promptly at the start of class.
What should I bring?
A water bottle and towel will ensure youre hydrated and comfortable during class.
A yoga mat is essential for each class. If you forget yours or dont yet own one, you can use one of ours or purchase one from us.
What should I wear?
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Mindfulness And Meditation Exercises
Both mindfulness and meditation are integral parts of the yoga practice. As mentioned earlier, physical yoga practices aim to prepare the body and mind for meditation.
There are two simple elements that define mindfulness:
Below is a simple, mindful counting meditation that you can practice at home:
Meditation technique
What Does Om Mean
Om is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. It is said to be the sound of the universe. What does that mean?
Somehow the ancient yogis knew what scientists today are telling usthat the entire universe is moving. Nothing is ever solid or still. Everything that exists pulsates, creating a rhythmic vibration that the ancient yogis acknowledged with the sound of Om. We may not always be aware of this sound in our daily lives, but we can hear it in the rustling of the autumn leaves, the waves on the shore, the inside of a seashell.
Chanting Om allows us to recognize our experience as a reflection of how the whole universe movesthe setting sun, the rising moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, the beating of our hearts. As we chant Om, it takes us for a ride on this universal movement, through our breath, our awareness, and our physical energy, and we begin to sense a bigger connection that is both uplifting and soothing.
ReadLight on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
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What Do I Need To Begin
All you really need to begin practicing yoga is your body, your mind, and a bit of curiosity. But it is also helpful to have a pair of yoga leggings, or shorts, and a t-shirt thats not too baggy. No special footgear is required because you will be barefoot. Its nice to bring a towel to class with you. As your practice develops you might want to buy your own yoga mat, but most studios will have mats and other props available for you.
TryYogitoes Manduka Yoga Mat Towel
Can I Injure Myself Doing Yoga
Yoga-related injuries are uncommon. Some injuries can be caused by repetitive strain or overstretching.
But yoga is the same as any other exercise discipline it’s perfectly safe if taught properly by people who understand it and have experience.
It’s advisable to learn from a qualified yoga teacher and choose a class appropriate to your level.
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Our Four Week Yoga For Beginners Series Is Your Best Way To Start
Yoga is fun!! But if you are new to yoga, want to improve your flexibility, or get healthy, Yoga can be a little scary. Specifically designed for beginners, this series is an introduction to yoga in a safe and supportive environment where the only requirement is that you have no idea what you are doing ! This Beginner Series is designed specifically to help new yoga students get acquainted with the poses and postures quickly and get ready for public classes. This class covers the fundamentals of yoga philosophy, how to breathe, and step-by-step instruction on the foundational yoga postures including modifications or adjustments to fit your needs and abilities.
Please wear exercise clothing that allows for comfortable movement and arrive 15 minutes early with a water, towel and yoga mat. If you dont have a yoga mat, dont worry, you can use ours for free!
4 small semi private group sessions so you have more one on one time with the teacher!
Instruction on the fundamentals of yoga postures, breathing and meditation techniques to get you up to speed quickly for public classes
All students are totally beginners. You stay with the same group for all 4 classes
COST: $139 includes unlimited yoga at all studios!
Vinyasa Flow Yoga : Free Beginner’s Course
Esther Ekhart is one of the most respected names in online yoga teachers, and the founder of EkhartYoga. Her programme for beginners is often recommended as something to try online before you head out to a class, so that you are acquainted with the basics of yoga.
Ekhart teaches Vinyasa Yoga, a more modern form that relies heavily on the synchronization of breath and movements. This five-part course will take you through the foundational poses of yoga that you are bound to learn in most classes. The first two courses are short, while the last three are longer.
The idea is to do a class about three or four times a week, and move on to the next class when you’re comfortable to it. The last class is a full session, so ease into it, don’t rush. It’s the ideal class for beginners to get into yoga for free.
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