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Specialising in
Pregnancy Yoga,
Postnatal / Mum&Baby Yoga
Fertility Yoga
Yoga NidraExpand your expertise
from home with our
professional, insurable
and reputable on-line
Yoga Teacher training.
Established in 2012, we now have
over 300 graduates worldwideOur training courses are designed for
disciplined yogis who are unable to
attend a face-to-face training course at
this time, or who choose a home study
due to family, work commitments,
finances or simply a desire take time
out for self study and development.om body
yoga for ages but...” and so begins their own
self-limiting story.
Sound familiar? If you’re considering
taking your first step into a yoga class, or
perhaps you’ve been practicing at home
with only the cat as your coach, let’s keep
it simple and go over a few things so that
you can stride confidently into that studio/
church hall/gym/scout hut...
1.) You already have a yoga body
Got a body? Going to do yoga with it? You
have a yoga body. Well done. You do not
need to already be able to do any fancy
yoga poses to go to a yoga class. If you can
breathe and move (at the same time) you
can do yoga.
Of course, there are some classes which
are more suited for beginners and you
should probably start with those (but see
below for more information about that
potential stumbling block). But don’t be
kidding yourself that you’ll start going to
yoga as soon as you can touch your toes/
stand on your hands/levitate. That’s like
waiting until you can speak fluent Spanish
before you go to Spanish classes: estúpido.
2.) Avoid paralysis by analysis
Trawling through the bewildering array of
yoga classes out there can put you off
before you begin. Get clear and realistic
about what you need from your practice
so you can start to narrow down the type
of class you want. (Relaxation? Increased
flexibility? Weight loss? Strength building?
Instant enlightenment?). Read the blurb
about them or, even better, contact the
teacher for an informal chat. And if it sounds
good – go!
You do not need to fall down internet
rabbit holes for hours on end to fully
understand the exact difference between
Vinyasa Flow, Flowing Vinyasa, Super Duper
Flowey Vinyasa, and Flowyasa. Unless you
feel it’s going to be totally out of your realm
of what’s achievable for you right now, if you
think it could be good for you, just go. Worst
case scenario, you find a class you’ll never
do again. Hurray! That’s one off the list!
3.) Go as you are
If you and your yoga practice are going to
have an enriching long-term relationship you
need to show up as you are. Yes, we all want
to make a good impression on our first date,
but we know that the really meaningful stuff
only starts to happen when we let our guard
down and be honest.
Here’s the thing – yoga is in this world
to help us mortals ultimately live our best
possible lives. But we need to live those lives
in the real world. There are things you can
change in your life which might help you nail
some of this stuff a bit quicker, but you’ve
got time for that. For now, rock up as your
chocolate-chomping, beer-loving, easily
irritable, rigid-bodied self and yoga will love
you even more. I promise.4.) No one else cares (in a good way)
Perhaps one of the biggest fears is that we’re
going to be the focal point for everyone else
in the room. We convince ourselves that
they will never have seen anyone else in a
Downward Dog before, and they’ll be making
mental notes as soon as our hamstrings
defy us in a forward fold, or an arm quivers a
bit in Warrior 2.
First of all – they’ve all been there. Bendy
Wendy and Flexible Frank haven’t always
been floating through their Sun Salutations
without a bead of sweat appearing anywhere
on their bodies. (And if they have always
been like that, then let’s remember that
makes them the weird ones.) Once everyone
is on their mats, breathing and moving, they
will be way more concerned with their own
practice than yours.5.) It’s only yoga
Yes, there are many reasons it has been
around for thousands of years. Yes, it holds
the key to truly authentic, blissful living. Yes,
it should be given the respect that anything
with such an amazing heritage (and proven
effectiveness) deserves. But holding all that
to be true, taking it too seriously isn’t going
to do anyone any favours.
Our yoga practices should be something
that we enjoy. I realise that we’ve all got
our own interpretations of that phrase. For
example, give me the choice between a
Bikram class, or slowly plucking out each
of my arm hairs, and I’ll be rolling up my
sleeves quicker than you can say “pass me
the tweezers”. But if you go to a class which
doesn’t spit you back out into the world a
whole lot happier than when you went in, you
might want to keep looking. Unless it gives
you arms like Madonna’s, of course.Meg Jackson is the founder of Real Life Yoga,
a movement to help real people bring a little
(or a lot) of yoga into their real lives. Visit:
reallifeyoga.net for details of her classes,
workshops and retreats*Keep it simple, silly