How do I prepare for my first yoga class at a yoga studio?
How often should I go to a yoga class?
Should I feel sore after a yoga class?
Why do we lie on our right side after
savasana
corpse pose?
Will yoga help stabilize loose joints?
Can I practice yoga with a physical limitation?
Can I practice yoga and enjoy a glass of wine?
Q: How do I prepare for my first yoga class at a yoga
studio?
A: Shower before practice, and be
sure you arrive on an empty stomach. Arrive ten
minutes early so that you can sign in, fill out the paper
work and empty your bladder before you begin your practice.
Do not wear any cologne or perfume. Remove bulky or
distracting jewelry and take off your watch. Be sure
to completely turn off your technology before entering the
yoga studio.
Q: How often should I go to a yoga class?
A: New students can begin to go
to a group class at least twice a week. Guaranteed, the
more you practice, the more you experience a lightness
around your heart. That freedom around your heart will lead
you to practice more frequently over time. Eventually you
will begin to develop a home practice in addition to your
group classes. Ideally with compassion you will do less yoga
and be more yoga.
A: The main purpose of a sticky
mat is to prevent you from sliding on the wooden or marble
floors. When I began yoga there was only one kind of mat, a
thin blue sticky mat. It was very simple. Today shopping for
a yoga mat can be overwhelming for a beginner due to the
many choices out there. Yogis love their yoga mats. Ask a
seasoned yogi in your class which mat they prefer and where
they purchased it.
A: Many yoga classes open with
the chanting of OM (also spelled AUM). It is written that OM
can be broken down into four syllables, A-U-M- and the
fourth syllable is the sound vibration of G-d.
"A" represents the first letter
in the alphabet of many languages (English, Sanskrit, or the
Aleph in Hebrew). “Ah” also represents an innate feeling
one gets when they sigh or while holding a newborn when they
are crying. The "U" sound or "oo" represents the continual
rhythm of creation or preservation. The "M" sound represents
the end or dissolution. The fourth syllable is considered
the vibrational sound of life, often referred to as G-d. The
fourth syllable is described well in an interview with
Mother Theresa. The reporter asked Mother Theresa what she
says when she prayers to G-d. Mother Theresa’s answered "I
don’t say anything, I listen". Then the reporter asked,
"What does G-d say to you?" Mother Theresa’s response was
"G-d does not say anything, he listens".
A: A few tips to the OM …Think of
your OM as a sound from your heart center ringing out to the
world. Know that there are some practices where holy men and
women chant OM all day long. Your OM, your sound waves go
beyond the walls and join their OM to create one omnipotent
sound, the sound of OM. Settle into the omnipresent moment
after your OM. Savior your OM experience as longs as you
can.
Q: Should I feel sore after a yoga class?
A: Yoga is sometimes
uncomfortable. However, it should not create additional
pain, strain and suffering. There are so many types of
soreness. Sometimes when you wake up sleeping body
parts in yoga, the next day or two, you are tender. That
healthy soreness is felt in the belly of your muscle, or
detailed little muscles in your back or even the skin over
your muscles themselves feel tender to touch. Also if your
diet is toxic, you will be more sore after a well rounded
yoga class. Lack of water can cause additional soreness.
If you are aching, burning or
sensitive around a joint or in the joint itself, rest. That
is a clear communication that you are over straining during
your yoga practice or daily activities. If your soreness
interrupts your sleep, stop doing what you are doing and
seek medical guidance.
Q: Will Yoga improve my posture?
A: Yoga will not actually make
you grow taller, but will simply make you feel taller.
Practicing yoga regularly (two to three times a week) will
guide you to your perfect posture designed for your gifted
body type by birth and life style.
In general, people have a
tendency to slouch. They are over worked, over stressed and
plain old tired. Modern society spends long hours in a
curved back position working on a computer, or driving a car
or even pleasurable activities like holding babies or
reading a book.
Yoga practitioners look taller
without having to gain a single inch. As you line your bones
up evenly with the earth’s axis, you will begin to breathe
more easefully. Your level of self-confidence, self
acceptance and compassion will also expand with the
extension of your spine and breath. Your presence will be
projected as having a bigger appearance. Over time with a
regular yoga practice, you will increase self confidence and
ultimate acceptance modeling greater stature on earth
(stat•ure (stăch'ər)… From Old French, from Latin statūra.
1. The natural height of a human or animal in an upright
position. 2. An achieved level; status.
Q: Why do we lie on our right side after
savasana
corpse pose?
A: Rolling to the right side
relaxing in fetal pose takes the pressure and heavy weight
off your rested heart. Secondly, laying on your right side
allows your natural blood pressure to reach it's potential
homeostasis. And lastly those precious mindful breaths in
fetal pose mentally harmonizes your mind’s attention on your
balanced energy flow.
Now my dear and respected friend
and yoga teacher Arun who comes from a more traditional
background said “Rolling to the side, either side is for
yoga wimps and promotes tamas. Instead, stretch,
re-engage your mind and breath, come up strong and THEN see
how your day goes! In fact, come up strong, do some kriya
and pranayama and then you can actually say you
practiced Yoga! Plus, rolling to the side to come up
misaligns your balance...:)”
Q: Will yoga help stabilize loose joints?
A: Yes over time with regular practice. What comes to my
mind is alignment, engagement and anchoring. Proper
alignment is essential in each asana. Line your bones
up with the earth’s axis! This will educate your
complimentary and opposing muscles to maintain their proper
balance in each asana. For complete stability root
down as you reach out. Get creative and root not only to the
floor but use the wall and other surrounding props too.
A: Yes. The yoga is designed to
begin where ever you are as long as you are open to learn.
The practice of yoga is different for each student and when
taught properly, it will help you to accept and even apply
your limitation with a positive spin. A person in his or her
90’s cannot expect to do the same postures they mastered in
their 20’s … at least not without some adaptations. My dear
friend Catherine used to tell me about a bald reclusive monk
with no arms and no legs living in a cave high in the
Himalayans. His daily practice included a headstand in the
snow every morning. You may want to experience several
one-on-one lessons before you join a group class to gain
some extra tools and knowledge how to navigate your way.
Either way, always begin with
your breath.
http://www.yogaeverywhere.com/breathing/index.html
Start practicing five minutes a day for twenty one days
straight. As it becomes easier and stress reducing, increase
your time to ten minutes daily for another twenty one days.
Eventually increasing to twenty minutes a day or even twice
a day.
By the way, there are some great yoga sites out
there with delightful breathing exercises once you are ready
to graduate YogaEverywhere’s Breathing Exercises to pepper
up your practice. I highly recommend Light on Pranayama BY
Mr. B. K. S. Iyengar a fantastic resource once you have
become a seasoned practitioner and confident of you strength
and commitment to the yogic path.
An experienced Iyengar teacher or
Desikachar lineage would be a good match for you. Iyengar
style yoga is the science of yoga which often instructs with
props and adaptations of the postures. The Desikachar
lineage is the heart of yoga adapting the vinyasas to
your specific needs and limitations. They both can tailor
the yoga to meet your needs.
Don’t give up if the first
teacher is unable to tailor their class to your needs … it
takes a more mature and clever teacher to teach a group
class with students possessing different abilities and
limitations. Your goal is a good one … keep seeking until
you find a teacher to give you a supportive launch into the
practice of yoga.
Q: Can I practice yoga and enjoy a glass of wine?
A: The modern man/woman applies
daily moderation in a world of chaos. It might be worth it
to you to meditate, journal, investigate or even ponder the
following questions … How does red wine effect your physical
body? Your energetic body? Your intellectual body? Your
emotional body? Your spiritual body? Is “enjoying” a glass
of red wine causing conflict with your family? Your belief
system? Does it deter you from your yoga practice?
If you sip wine make it organic.
Recent studies have shown that drinking one glass of red
wine every day may actually have health benefits including a
positive effect on cholesterol levels and blood pressure and
the reduction of lung tissue inflammation in chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. Research also indicates that
moderate red wine consumption may help protect against
certain cancers and heart disease because of a compound
found in red wine (resveratrol found in seeds and skins of
grapes). However, you don’t have to drink red wine to get
those benefits as peanuts, blueberries and cranberries also
contain resveratrol.
