It might seem daunting to start yoga if you’ve never done it before. Watching influencers and people on social media might make you feel nervous to get started. As a beginner, you might feel overwhelmed by the number of poses, the names, the mats, the blocks, and the outfits. But no fear, it’s actually really easy to start yoga and there are countless reasons why yoga is good for you and is something great to incorporate into your life. Some of the benefits are improved flexibility and balance, relief of back pain, stress relief, improved mental health, increased strength and muscle tone, and the promotion of better posture. There are so many reasons why you should be doing yoga and it’s so easy to start, there’s nothing stopping you from starting today. Let’s go over the easy steps to get you started on your yoga journey.
Step 1: Find a yoga teacher/class
There are a few avenues you can go down when it comes to yoga classes and yoga teachers. Your options are in-person yoga or at-home/online yoga.
For in-person yoga, your best bet is to research online if there are any studios or classes offered around you. You can find classes at your local gym, community center, or yoga studio. Sometimes you’ll find reviews listed about the class or teacher which are helpful in finding a good class. As a newbie, you might want to look for classes that say beginner in the title. In-person classes offer a community and hands-on teacher that will help you grow in your yoga practice.
At home/online – There has never been a better time to find yoga classes online or on a workout app than now. The best part about virtual classes is you can take them when and where you want to take them, so they are super flexible. One great resource is YouTube. There are hundreds of yoga teachers posting their classes on YouTube for free and their classes range from beginner level to advanced. Starting out you can search for beginners’ yoga and a ton of videos will pop up. One of the most popular YouTube yoga teachers is Adriene Mishler of ‘Yoga with Adriene’. Her videos are easy to follow for beginners and she gives lots of options to make things less challenging as you learn your way. There are also a variety of workout apps that offer yoga classes. If you already have an app you use, chances are the app offers yoga classes as well. Not all apps or classes you get on apps are free, so that is something to be aware of.
Step 2: Select a mat
There are a ton of yoga mats and yoga mat brands out there. As a newbie, it isn’t easy to know which one is right for you. Since you’re just beginning, we’d recommend you keep your yoga mat investment small and upgrade later down the line once you get more consistent with it.
Yoga mat basics – yoga mats come in a variety of thicknesses and depending on your need and knees some thicknesses might be better for you than others. The thinner the mat, the less cushion it provides between you and floor, which might make some floor poses difficult. However, thinner mats are easier to travel with since they roll up smaller and are less heavy to carry. The thickest mats (the ones you’ll most commonly see in stores) offer a lot of cushion between you and the floor but they don’t always roll out flat. They are also not as lightweight and are bulky making them not as easy to tuck away or travel with you.
Yoga mats are great to have but not an absolute necessity if you want to get started today. Word of caution, towels are good if you’re doing a sequence on the floor but not great for standing poses as the towel can slip out from underneath you.
Step 3: Pick out comfy clothes
Chances are you have a good yoga outfit in your closet right now. There are a couple of things that make for a good yoga outfit. #1 comfortable pants or shorts that will stretch with you. What this means is you don’t want pants that will restrict your movement. You want a waistband that is giving and comfortable and won’t dig into you when you do a forward fold as an example. #2 a fitted shirt. There are a lot of positions in yoga that require you to have your head down or be on all fours. In positions like that, your shirt will tend to either roll up or flop open. If you’re practicing by yourself, it’s not much of an issue. But if you don’t want to get lost in a loose shirt, or have a body part show unexpectedly, you’ll want to wear a shirt that is fitted or can be tucked in. One thing not mentioned here is socks. Socks are not recommended for a yoga practice. Even though they do a great job at keeping those toes warm, socks can cause your feet to slip around the mat or floor which can be dangerous. There might be some practices that are suitable to do in socks but for the most part, yoga is a bare-feet thing.
Step 4: Get started!
If you’ve done all the steps above there is nothing to stop you from getting started today with your yoga journey.
As you’ve learned above, it’s easy to get started with yoga. Don’t get overwhelmed with all the poses, language, mats and clothes. Keep it simple and get started. There are too many good reasons to incorporate yoga into your daily life than to not.