Yoga at Home for Absolute Beginners!

Hatha Yoga for Beginners: A Home Practice Meets YOUR Needs

Yesterday morning I remembered why I love doing yoga at home!  Shortly after I woke up and emerged from my bed I noticed odd sensations in my hips, especially my left hip.  It wasn't pain- maybe it was just slight stiffness.  Something was off kilter -  I had probably slept in an odd position. Who knows?  Since it lasted the next hour or so before I did my yoga practice, I figured I would zap the quirky feeling in my hips with yoga.

After a warm shower I rolled out my yoga mat and began my morning practice. However, I changed my routine.  I added repetitions of hip-opening poses such as the ankle to forehead stretch, the backward bend, and the knee and thigh stretch (the latter to relax muscles in my thighs leading to my hips). And, I held each of these poses longer than I usually do.

Guess what?  Yoga worked!  Whatever kinks or stiffness had been in my hips not so mysteriously disappeared and I was back on track.  Now, I have participated in only a few yoga classes.  But, my experience has been that the yoga instructor develops the routine that everyone follows.  There are few or no opportunities to tailor the sequences to your own needs of the day.  That's why I believe that home yoga practice has such an advantage over a class session.  You can customize it to fit YOU.

Thought for the Day: "Practicing yoga at home allows you to tailor make a regime to fit your personal needs."  Laura Venecia Rodriguez

Hatha Yoga for Beginners: The Value of Taking it Slow...

Except for one Vinyasa yoga class a few years ago at my office, my yoga practice has been limited to hatha yoga.  I enjoy the slow movements and static poses of hatha yoga. Some athletes might find them boring, and unchallenging.  I rarely break a sweat doing hatha yoga.  And, that is fine!  My hatha yoga practice complements my aerobics routine on my mini-rebounder.

Even though I speed along throughout my day on my trek to and from the metro station from house or buzzing along the hallways of my office, I love setting aside a time during the day to relax and go into slo' mo' by doing a hatha yoga practice. But, this is no ordinary "slo mo.'  The slow motion behind hatha yoga is strategic because it's a scientific system designed to stretch and massage the muscles, tissues, nerves, glands, and organs of your body.  By so doing, you become aware of the unity of your mind, body, and spirit and you awaken yourself to the wonders and beauty of life.  You are no longer sleep walking your life away.

One of my first yoga books, Yoga for Beauty and Health, hammers in the importance of doing yoga poses as slowly as you can, in dreamlike fashion (assuming your dreams are in slow motion).  I believe you should take in slow in yoga for the following reasons: 

1)  Moving in slow motion as you enter and exit hatha yoga allows you to fully focus on your movements and how your body feels.  Try it right now.  Lift a hand above your head first in normal or fast speed and then repeat but this time move it ever so slowly above your head.  Didn't you pay more attention when you moved your hand slowly?  

2)  When you intensify your focus more during slow hatha yoga movements, you will more likely deepen and elongate your stretches, thereby stepping up your progress and mastery of the poses.  Slow movements when you exit the poses give you essential recovery time, and enhances the benefits of the poses.

3)  You will be better able to synchronize your breathing with your movements.  It's harder to breathe in deliberately and deeply when you move fast, right?  So, when you do your hatha yoga practice, s - l - o - w     d- o - w - n!

Thought the for Day:  "In hatha yoga, slo' mo' is the way to go ."~Laura Venecia Rodriguez

Beginners Yoga: The "G" in Yoga is the Secret to Motivating Yourself!

Motivating yourself to practice yoga daily can be very easy.  Notice I said CAN.  The secret is simple.  You only need to apply it.  Consider the word "yoga" - it has a G in it.  Well, guess what the G stands for?  It can stand for many things but if you want to motivate yourself to practice yoga daily, that G represents "Gift".  Yoga practice is a "gift "that you bestow on yourself, isn't it? 

You "gain" (hey, there's another G!) much from the gift of yoga- more serenity, flexibility, energy, and an overall increase in vitality from your inside out.  It's as simple as that.  A daily gift of yoga expands your life and makes you feel fresher and awake. So, if you can't seem to motivate yourself to practice daily - remember your practice is a valuable gift that keeps on giving - by renewing your mind, body, and spirit.  Surely, you would not want to deny yourself that!

Thought for the Day:  "Your daily yoga practice is one of the most precious gifts to yourself.~Laura Venecia Rodriguez