Embrace the Basics: Yoga for a Holistic Start to Wellness

What is yoga?

This is an interesting question with many possible answers. In short, I think of yoga as a practice that connects mind, body and spirit (for those that are spiritually inclined). Most of us think of yoga as the physical practice, which is called asana. A fancy way of saying poses connected through movement. This is typically what brings most people to the practice. They want to move their body and feel good. The physical practice accomplishes that.

However, yoga is much more than simply a movement practice. It involves breath work and meditation and truly connecting to our bodies, minds, and our spirit. It is a genuine holistic practice. And as most practitioners will attest it goes much deeper than simple doing sun salutations and down dogs.

I would like to clear the air on yoga being a religion. Earlier, I mentioned spirit for those that are spiritually inclined. Yoga is not a religion nor does it require its practitioners to participate in any one religion. You can be religious or not at all. The practice can take you to a deeper place where you may find a connection to something greater than yourself. Or you may not, and that's ok too.

What are the benefits of a yoga practice?

There is a long list of benefits of this practice. Many of which our modern science is starting to confirm. One of those benefits includes increased flexibility and no you do not need to be flexible to start a yoga practice. Other benefits include increased strength, mobility, and balance.

You can also expect a decrease in stress levels, an increase in a state of calm, self acceptance and more patience. Over time the practice will take you deeper into your inner landscape and help with emotional balance.

I previously wrote a post on the benefits of yoga. You can find that here.

What sets yoga apart from many other movement practices is the focus on the breath. Yoga is about linking the movement to the breath. Never fear, it's not complicated. But often we inhale on one movement and exhale on the next. The teacher will guide your breath throughout the class. During practice, you may find a few moments of sitting and doing breath work. It may seem subtle, but it has profound effects on the mind, body, and the spirit.

How do I start a yoga practice?

I believe the key here is mindset. To approach the practice with an open mind. It's important to drop the comparison act. Yoga is a highly individual practice even if you practice in a group setting either in person or virtually.

It's important to let go of the social media picture of yoga. You know the flawlessly taken photos of people in some crazy yoga poses. Many newcomers to the practice feel they are less because they think, "how will I ever get into that pose?".

It's not that those poses are impossible. But what you don't see is behind the scenes of those photos. For many, it has taken a lot of time to work up to that pose. Although we all have the same basic anatomy, there are differences in each of our bodies. There may be some poses you are simply not able to do.

I have plenty of poses I have never been able to do, and I am fine with that. Yoga is not about progressing to complicated or difficult poses. It's perfectly normal to find the poses that work best for you and to stick with them. You may never do inversions or arm balances. Yet there are plenty of other poses you will benefit from.

Yoga is not about bending yourself into pretzel shapes or complicated arm balances. It can be if that is what you are interested in. Yoga has something for everybody. From the hard core "power yoga" types down to the calming "restorative" poses. And everything in between. It's important to find what works for you. And the way to do that - practice. Take some yoga classes either in person or online. Tryout various types. Power yoga, hot yoga, vinyasa flow, hatha, yin, restorative, chair, and more. Take classes with different teachers to find what resonates best with you.

Be ok with the fact your practice will change as you move through different phases of your life. That's the beauty of the practice. It's ever-changing. Each day can be something different. Or it can be the same set of poses that you know and love. It's completely up to you!

Now that may sound complicated, but really yoga is about putting together base poses in various ways and having slight variations on those base poses. An excellent yoga teacher can easily lead you through poses even if you have never done them. You never have to remember poses, but you will find over time, they come to you very easily. It's through doing the practice that you learn the most.

I highly recommend finding a good beginner series at your local yoga studio or online. It is a good introduction to some of the base poses without getting complicated. From there, you will find it's pretty easy to pick up.

Creating a routine with your yoga practice.

Consistency is important, although you will benefit anytime you practice yoga, I can guarantee that. When we build a yoga practice into our daily lives, the benefits compound.

This does not mean you need to commit to an hour-long practice 7 days a week. Quite the contrary, more consistent but shorter practices are actually preferred in this case. Rather than practicing for 1 hour once a week or sporadically.

You will need to find what works for you. Find a time you can easily commit to and try sticking to that for a bit. Do this before increasing the time commitment. Or even allow yourself to indulge when time allows and do a longer practice without committing to that time allotment.

The key here is truly quality over quantity. If you can work in 15 minutes of quality practice five days a week, I believe that will better serve you than a 45 minute practice once a week or less.

Also think about where you would like to practice. Set up a space in your home where your yoga stuff is easily accessible anytime you want to roll out the mat. This will make it easier to practice. Also consider other holistic practices you wish to incorporate. Such as traditional Chinese medicine acupressure points or poses to work with the elements. Another great thing to add is breath work and/or meditation before or after your class.

If you are practicing in studio, look up times for classes and the ones you wish to attend. Add those to your calendar. Make a self-care date with yourself. If practicing online and you have favorite teachers you follow, find out when they usually post so you can add those classes to your calendar.

These days, there are so many ways to practice yoga; it is much more accessible and affordable. In fact, when just starting out I suggest the many free options available. Find your favorites from free content and go from there.

The importance of the breath in yoga

In the end, be open minded and go slow when beginning a yoga practice. I would recommend a slow yoga flow, hatha or even a yin style class to begin. Avoid the quickly moving flows at first. Take the time to enjoy your time on the mat.

Yoga is about becoming more aware of your body. Its wants and needs. Really tuning in and listening to your body. For many, they have never taken the time to listen. It can be an eye-opening experience.

Enjoy the journey. It is a beautiful and wonderful journey into your inner landscape. A chance to meet yourself where you are in this moment. It's liberating and fantastic. You will learn a ton about yourself along the way. Yoga is truly a journey to the self, your inner being.

Ready to try yoga? Check out my beginner playlist on YouTube.