Are you ready to plunge into yoga?
If you are here on this webpage, reading this blog post, then you probably are! You want to try yoga but don't really know how to start? Here's a couple of quick tips before you approach your first yoga class.
There's so many different yoga styles. My advice - start with the most neutral ones like Hatha or Beginner Vinyasa so you can learn some poses and get a basic understanding of what a yoga class is (as it is quite different from your fitness classes). Generally, I don't think it is a good idea to start with more niche styles like Hot Yoga or Ashtanga right away as they have some more complicated elements and this might be simply too much at first.
Do not expect from yourself to be able to do all poses straight away. Again, yoga differs from fitness classes which give exercises that can be performed by most people. It is ok to do a beginner variation of an asana or even to hang out in a Child's pose for a bit. You will develop your asana skills gradually, with practice.
Wear comfortable clothes and be ready to practice barefoot. You'll be doing a lot of forward folds and Downward-facing Dogs with people around you, so keep that in mind. As for being barefoot, I've seen some people refusing to lose their shoes and/or socks at a yoga class. Not only they don't get to stretch their hamstrings properly, but they also missing out on working the feet which has numerous health benefits. And yes, they look funny, too.
