Yoga can enrich your life in ways you can’t even imagine. It doesn’t just give you a good exercise, but it can improve your mind and wellbeing. No matter who you are, yoga can fit into your lifestyle with ease, all you need to do is start! Before you go ahead and commit to a month’s worth of yoga classes at a studio, make sure you have an idea of what you’re getting into. Yoga can be more challenging than it can seems, so you’ll want to prepared! Here’s How to Prepare for your First Yoga Class!
How to Prepare for your First Yoga Class
Picking Your Class
Image: Flickr
In yoga, it’s always best practice to start at the beginner level classes and move your way up. The more advanced yoga classes can be quite challenging and you’ll want to master the basic yoga positions first to create a good foundation for your body. Look for classes that include the words “Yoga Flow” or have descriptions that include Surya Namaskara or also called sun salutations. This practice is the foundations of yoga, including positions like downward dog, cobra, and plank. In order to accomplish the more challenging poses, you have to know and understand the basics of yoga.
While hot yoga is still a popular class at most yoga studios, we recommend staying away from it if you’re a beginner. Hot yoga brings up the temperature of the yoga studio and is supposed to warm your muscles so you can go deeper into certain yoga positions. However, the temperatures can be quite hot where people feel lightheaded and dizzy, so you’ll want to build up the stamina for that class. The last thing you’ll want is to pass out in the middle of your yoga class.
What To Bring
If you’re a beginner, you won’t have to bring too much to your first yoga class. The biggest recommendation is that you start off renting a yoga mat because no reason to spend more money if you don’t enjoy yoga! For those who feel weird about borrowing yoga mats from studios, it’s easy enough to find an affordable yoga mat. Luckily, most studios provide the blocks and straps for the practice, so don’t buy those just yet unless you want to practice at home.
Other essential items are a water bottle to keep hydrate, sandals (because you’re going to take off your shoes anyway), and a towel (to wipe off any sweat that might be on the mat). The best thing about yoga is that the two things you really need is a mat and a good attitude!
How to Prepare
The first thing to keep in mind is that yoga is not just about working out, it’s also a way to exercise your mind as well. Often, people who try yoga get frustrated because the practices might be slower than Pilates or Zumba, and requires you to hold poses for longer than comfortable. That’s because yoga is about building strength and patience, which includes pushing your body to uncomfortable positions for 30 seconds or longer. Remember, keep your mind at peace and have a steady breathe, you’ll see over time that holding each position gets easier. Also, yoga is supposed to challenge your body, so remember have a good attitude and if you don’t get it the first time, it’s okay!
To prepare your body before yoga, it doesn’t hurt to stretch a little before class. You’ll find that yoga will stretch out your body in ways you haven’t done before, so warming up your body before your first yoga class is always a good idea. Also, depending on what class you’ve chosen, yoga can still give you quite the workout, we recommend being hydrated before class because if you’re dehydrated, you won’t enjoy the practice and neither will your body.
If you’re inspired to try some alternative workouts, here are some great ways to work out without equipment!
Another tip…don’t eat right before your class. Give at least 2 hrs after eating before hitting the mat. Nothing messes up your downward dog than retasting your lunch.;) When absolutely starving I have eaten a banana before practice without negative effects, but an empty stomach is best.