A little while back, I wrote about how to start yoga. And today, I’m expanding on that by coming back with a yoga flow for beginners! Yoga basics: check. I am so excited to be sharing this with everyone.
I’m assuming you stumbled upon this post because you’re looking to try something new, afraid of being judged (hey, aren’t we all?), and to start incorporating yoga into your life.
The best part? It’s AWESOME to be a beginner. You have an open mind and you aren’t going to fail. You’re only going to get better (pinky promise).
Let’s do this, mountain yogis!
The Mindset
Since you’re here, I’m going to assume you’re new to yoga. Like I said before, it’s amazing to be a beginner. But it’s SO damn important you get into the right mindset, because you don’t want to let the fear of being a beginner stop you from even starting (cue Oprah-esque inspiration). And certainly don’t let the person next to you, who’s been doing yoga for 10 years, intimidate you. Stay in your lane.
If you’re catching yourself feeling nervous and anxious, that’s usually a sign that you’re moving in the right direction. Instead of telling yourself how nervous you are, change your thoughts to “I am excited to try something new”. The body interprets the feelings of anxiety and excitement in the same way, so now it’s just a matter of tricking your monkey mind into being excited. Neat, huh?
The Poses
Being a beginner, you’re going to do things “incorrectly”. It’s going to be hard to pick up every single alignment cue a teacher gives. Give yourself time to find the alignment that work for you. Once you have the basics of alignment down, it’s easier to translate those foundations into other poses.
Some common alignment cues you’ll likely hear are below. Be sure to key into these throughout our flow.
- Keep your core activated
- Soften the shoulders
- Bring the spine to neutral position
- Ground through the feet
In our flow, we’re going to be touching on these common poses as well. You’ll usually find these in any yoga class.
- Seated
- Baby Cobra
- Downward Facing Dog
- High Plank
- Mountain Pose
- Chair
- Low Lunge
The Breath
And this is when yoga can appear to get “weird”. Especially to someone who is newer to the yoga world. It may come off as a bit ‘cult-y’ to have everyone breathing deeply in unison – and yes, it can seem super strange at first.
BUT did you know that actively working on deepening the breath actually increases your lung capacity?
There are endless types of breathing techniques, but as a beginner, focus on simply breathing deeply. This helps link your movement with your breath. A good rule of thumb is to inhale and exhale for counts of four.
The Final Pose (AKA “Savasana”)
Ahh, the BEST part of your yoga class: the ‘final’ pose. Otherwise known as savasana. What’ the point, right?
It rounds out the work you’ve put in. It invites a sense of relaxation and stillness – something we all desperately need in our chaotic lives. Even five minutes can change the course of a day.
Always remember to stay for the last few moments of every class to receive all the benefits of the work you’re putting in.
There you have it! Let me know how you liked this flow by hitting a thumbs up or thumbs down (it’s totally cool!). Be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel for more yoga flows for the mountain lover.
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Pin now, yoga later!
