Getting Started Practicing Yoga

The beauty of yoga, is that you don’t need anything to start practicing. Comfortable and loose-fitting clothes and a spacious spot somewhere in your home will suffice to begin with. However, it is also useful to buy and practice on a Yoga matt, perhaps accompanied by a blanket and a pillow to ensure your comfort when performing some asanas.

To gain knowledge and guidance on the poses and breathing techniques in yoga, you can consult some of the web pages already provided that offer comprehensive descriptions and pointers on how to perform the postures. Alternately, you can buy a DVD from the shops that offers you more visual guidance on how to effectively master the postures.

The best of all, however, is to sign up to a class where an instructor can teach you the poses and guide you if and when you make mistakes. It is also a good way to interact with others who are beginning and probably have similar aims to yourself.

Advice pre-session

Generally, it is advisable to do all yoga practices on an empty stomach or about an hour or 2 after meals. Before a session, ensure that you go to the loo (needing the toilet mid-session is not helpful), clean your nose and throat, and drink a glass of warm water 15 minutes prior to the session. You can have fruit, energy bars, have a glass of juice or water an hour before sessions. This is to avoid getting really hungry in Yoga practice.

When and how long to practise Yoga

The ideal time to practice Yoga is first thing in the morning. It wakes up and rejuvenates mind and body, preparing you for the day ahead. Always begin your sessions with some of the more simple asanas, as this helps prepare the body for the tougher exercises and stretching that follows. Your instructor will direct the class so it starts off easy and gets progressively tougher, and should leave bigger rest times between the tougher postures. Yoga Sessions don’t have to be long, but they should be done on a daily basis if you want to gain the full possible benefit.

Contacts in the UK

Now equipped with some basic starting up advice, you can begin to look for classes. A good place to start your search could be Yoga.co.uk, that contains a comprehensive directory of classes, events, workshops and Yoga holidays both in the UK and abroad. If you are looking for classes for example, you simply have to enter the region that you live in and from there appears a list of different options - classes of all forms of yoga and instructors who will teach you in the home or workplace.

Another source to locate a yoga teacher, holiday or organisation is Yoga UK, that boasts an equally comprehensive list of teachers, sorted by the region in which they are based and their specialism.
A great way in which to introduce yourself to yoga could be to attend a yoga weekend or short holiday, that way gaining a fuller immersion in the discipline under the instruction of qualified teachers and most probably in beautiful natural surroundings. Within the UK, there are some yoga retreats where you can experience an introduction to yoga and also a relaxation holiday.

For example, on the August Bank holiday weekend, you can spend a “relaxing and invigorating” weekend in a rustic country house deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, practising relatively informal yoga classes, with various health therapies available. More information regarding this weekend can be obtained at Yogamatt.net.

Alternately, you could practice yoga and pilates in the stunning Snowdonian National park on the weekend of 19th-21st October in the Trigonos Retreat Centre in a breathtaking location in the Nantlle Valley. The accommodation is very comfortable, there is excellent organic and seasonal foods available. Again, more information can be obtained on their website.

The options for a yoga weekend or week-long holiday in a foreign clime are seemingly endless. Particularly exotic places to learn the basics of the discipline are Morocco, Croatia, Italy, Sri Lanka or Kenya.

Advancing Your Yoga

Many people who have been practicing yoga regularly for a long period of time and are relatively experienced in the discipline, can feel the need to seek a deeper understanding of yoga. There are a number of ways in which one can achieve a more advanced level in the practice of yoga and a deepened understanding of the philosophies that underlie the sport. In this section we will explore a number of ways to attain advancement in yoga:

Do a course

Foundation Course 1

The British Yoga Wheel offers a couple of courses that aim to explore yoga in more depth than the average class. Foundation course 1 is a 60 hour course that includes practical and theoretical work on the eight limbs of Patanjali's Yogasutras chapter two; for example, asanas, pranayamas, concentration and meditation, as well as topics such as the history of yoga, and the different paths and schools of yoga.

It is aimed at students who would like to develop their knowledge of yoga further and also for those wanting to train as teachers to provide them with the basics and an invaluable introduction to the BWY diploma course.

Foundation Course 2

To enrol on Foundation Course 2 with the BWY you must have completed Foundation Course 1. The intention of the course is not to train you as a teacher, but to further deepen your knowledge and expertise in the sport.

The course includes more asana, more pranayama, meditation, chanting, prana, nadis, kosas (pancamaya), mudras, bandhas, kriyas, and how to plan personal practices specifically designed for individual needs.

Working/Living on an Ashram

For a full-immersion program in yoga, a great option is to spend some time studying yoga and living and working on an Ashram. An ashram is a living, working community for people dedicated to yoga and its unified lifestyle aims.

An ashram is usually an extremely open and friendly place where the residents share the workload that is required to sustain the ashram and together practice yoga in a calm and harmonious atmosphere.

If you go to experience a residential course at an ashram, you can expect to practice yoga twice daily, partake in meditation, eat vegetarian meals and some form of Karma yoga (selfless service), probably consisting of light work in and around the ashram.

You can choose to stay on an ashram for a few days, weeks or months, dependent on your dedication to deepening your yoga practice. On the International Sivanda ashrams, you can take part in a yoga vacation of your choice. A two-week minimum stay is recommended to thoroughly recharge your batteries (Pranam) and also rejuvenate your mind, which are the main aims of the ashram experience. A holistic approach to yoga practice is taken on such courses; you study exercise, breathing, relaxation, diet, meditation and positive thinking.

Other popular and well set-up yoga ashrams in the UK and the rest of the continent are:

• Mandalayoga Ashram - Founded in 1986 by Swami Nishchalananda, the aim of the institution is to help people learn and practice yoga but also, to assist in the deeper understanding of yoga and its spiritual path.

• The Devon School of Yoga - offers classes, but also yoga retreats in the southwestern region of the UK.

• The European Union of Yoga - A good starting point for exploring the various yoga organisations within the countries of the European union and some of the courses and retreat holidays that they offer.

Further afield, there are great options for ashram holidays in the USA, where approximately 30 million people now practice the sport:

Ability.org.uk contains a good list of institutions in America. Alternately, if you are really serious about advancing your yoga, you could consider going to the origin of the discipline, to India. Below are a list of contact institutions and organisations that offer “yoga holidays” in some stunning regions of the country:

• Rishikesh Yoga

• Sivananda Yoga in India

• Incredible India - Dealing with yoga holidays amongst other packages.

• Pilgrimage India - Also has an extensive list of ashrams and yoga packages available in India.

• Health and Yoga - Organise yoga breaks on the Indian subcontinent.