Yoga 2.0 -- A User Guide for Getting Started

in #yoga7 years ago (edited)

Good day, Steemians!

Be curious, not judgmental. -- Walt Whitman



As I say, I love the yoga, and I especially love to share it! A few days ago, I made a post asking my fellow Steemians how I can help you along your path, and the response was really touching. Thank you, Steemit!!! 💕

Lots of people are interested in starting or deepening their practices, and this truly makes my heart sing--yoga is a real miracle, an actual reset for the dysfunctional programming modern humans generally operate under. It's a science, an art, and a lifestyle. 

For me, it's a blessing to share the wealth of yoga knowledge because it adds real, tangible value to life. Every aspect of life is better when you are healthy and thriving, and yoga can guide you there! 

I noticed a few questions came up again and again in response to my post:

  1. Where do I start?
  2. What can I do for the pain in my neck, shoulders, and head from crouching over my computer all day (i.e. "tech neck")? 

Given that these are such common thoughts, I'd like to address them both. In this post, I will offer my opinion on how to get into a practice, and I will provide solutions for tech neck in an upcoming article. 

Without further ado...

How do I start a yoga practice?

If you are asking yourself this question, then your practice has already begun, grasshopper... 

Yoga is a journey of the self, through the self, to the self. -- Bhagavad Gita

Yoga is the union of mind, body, and soul, so literally ANYTHING you do with focus and awareness that can get you to that point is yoga! But most Westerners do not consider dissolving into the infinite by becoming one with their toy train or cookie jar collections, so let's pretend you are like most Westerners and envision yoga as the ability to put your legs behind your head.

Then the real question is what do you want out of a yoga practice?



Are you looking for a traditional experience?

...I'm not going to give it to you, and neither will a teacher in $100 stretchy pants at Yoga-4-Eva Studio on Main Street, and here's why:

Yoga as a practice is said to have begun 5,000 years ago in India when it was gifted to humanity by Lord Shiva (although new research suggests that it may be way older, with roots in ancient Egypt...but that's a topic for another day). It was an oral tradition passed from teacher to student, until some unknown scribe decided to record some info on a few palm fronds.

Let's be real:
a) Palm fronds are not exactly permanent stores of information.
b) The human mind can twist some shit! 

So whatever information has filtered down through the millenia is quite likely a twisted version of the original. 

Ok, so maybe no one even really knows what traditional really means, but there styles of yoga that strive to maintain integrity of their lineage, as well as some classic yoga texts. If you want a "traditional" experience, then I suggest you start by reading these:

  • The Bhagavad Gita. This is the first text that mentions yoga, and it is a smaller portion of the Indian epic the Mahabarata (which is a chronicle of the Kuruksetra War). In the BG, the warrior Arjuna despairs as he faces battle with his kinsmen, and he calls out to Lord Krishna for guidance. Krishna delivers some stellar gems, such as "Be one in self-harmony, in Yoga, and arise, great warrior, arise", and you can always glean something new from re-reading this text. 
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These are 196 sutras (the Sanskrit word for "threads") that outline 8 limbs of yoga and guidelines for leading a life of integrity. It doesn't have much to do with postures at all!

Obviously there will be some variance through the texts depending on the translator/editors, but unless you're going to teach yourself Sanskrit, that's what we have to work with. 

There are some teachers who have done great things in bringing yoga to the Western world, and you might like to check out their works too. These are serious influencers way before social media was a thing:

  • J. Krishnamurti
  • Swami Satchidananda--FYI: sat = truth, chit = consciousness, ananda = bliss. Sat-chid-ananda.
  • Satyananda Saraswati
  • BKS Iyengar--He wrote Light on Yoga, which is "classic" in its own right, but I didn't include it in the list of classical classics because it was published in 1966...classic.
  • BNS Iyengar, who somewhat confusingly is unrelated to BKS Iyengar.
  • Yogi Bhajan
  • Sri T. Krishnamacharya
  • Indra Devi
  • Krishna Pattabhi Jois
  • Swami Kripalvananda
  • Swami Vishnu-devananda--He wrote The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga which modern yogis seem to like
  • Paramhansa Yogananda--He wrote Autobiography of a Yogi

I'm sure I left some out, but there you go. That as good a start as any to "traditional" yoga. I myself am not a fan of dogma or even classes for that matter, but eat it up if that's your jam!! 



Are you looking for a physical experience?

This is what I suspect most people mean when they want to get into yoga, because holding crazy poses is almost the exclusive image that is presented as what it means to do yoga. And that's totally cool, as the asana = posture aspect of yoga practice offers undeniable benefits for the body! 

If this is what you're looking for, then you probably want to know what style to choose, right? I don't know what's best for you and neither does the Yoga-4-Eva Studio. You have to tune into yourself and decide what's best--yoga's all about that self-empowerment!

Yoga Styles:

Hatha yogas are based on movement and breathwork and focus on harnessing and directing life force energy = prana to create balance within the body, mind, and soul. These are some styles of hatha yoga:

  • Ashtanga--means "8 limbs"; postures are just one aspect. Somewhat rigid; the same poses are performed in the same sequence almost every time.
  • Vinyasa--means "flow". Likely to be different routines every time you practice. 
  • Ashtanga vinyasa--hybrid of asthanga and vinyasa.
  • Yin AKA restorative--very nurturing, often extensive use of props. Generally holds poses for a long time and focuses on stress & tension release through the breath. 
  • Kundalini--really weird, but debatably the closest to "original" yoga. Focuses on releasing and directing the kundalini energy coiled at the base of the spine through breathwork and repetitive movements called kriyas. 
  • Bikram--hot yoga
  • Iyengar--super focused on alignments, and you may hold a pose for awhile.
  • Anusara--focused on gratitude and grace throughout the movements.

Personally, I choose ashtanga or a hybrid because it makes a lot of sense to me. So if you follow me, you're going to get an ashtanga slant in my yoga posts. 

There are other styles that are not based in movement as well: Karma yoga is the yoga of service or work. It suggests giving of yourself without attachment to the outcome of your efforts. Bhakti is the yoga of love and devotion. Jnana is the yoga of self-reflection, inquiry, and exploration. There's even yoga of food (ana) and sound (nada), because as I said anything you do consciously can bring you to unity!



Are you looking for a metaphysical experience?

This is where it's really at for me!! One of the greatest aspects of yoga is its ability to teach you things that are super important to the human experience, but modern society tries to beat out of you. For example, patience! An instructor can say some inspirational shit and show you some super cool poses, but really exploring the non-physical realms all comes down to you.

I highly recommend meditation to one and all, and you can find a cool meditation class or you can give it a go at home or in nature. I've shared some of my own experience with meditation (I started by committing to 5 minutes a day, and even then I had to set a timer so I wouldn't bolt), and I'd be happy to go further into that if anyone wants to know more. If you really want to go deep, if you really want to get to know yourself, then I suggest plopping down on a cushion or your mat or a chair or whatever, bringing your awareness to your breath, and witnessing whatever comes up. That's a real adventure, for sure! 


TL;DR

You can go to your local gym and sign up for a class on your lunch break as I have done, or you can go to India and read original classic texts and study with masters as I have also done, or you can freestyle in your backyard in your underwear as I regularly do. It's all fine! Do whatever you want! YOU are the most important person in a yoga practice!!!

How to get started in yoga?? Follow @saramiller, and I'll break it all down. 








💛 Sara! 

Sort:  

That's an amazing post ! I was always procrastinating and overthinking about the yoga , but i truly wanna learn how to meditate through yoga and breathing techniques , you encouraged me to start yoga :)

Thank you, @mirage! I'm honored to inspire you towards a life of better health and more peace! Yay, may your life be better than ever!

on the international yoga day few days ago indian government issued a document about yoga . It was awesome , and included all the aasanas that are to be performed along with instruction ,benefits , caution and much more find it ...if you dont den let me now ...
Remember : India is a origin country of yoga science . It also has a seperate ministry dat look after yoga and other alternative medicines . we all must do yoga it help in the synchronization of body and mind ..

You all take care about your oral hygeine , physical hygeine , or whatever-hygeine it is .WHAT ABOUT THE MENTAL HYGEINE ?. Now just 20 mins a day can change your life .

read from the below link it will take not more than 2 mins .
https://steemit.com/life/@ronyy/deeper-than-the-deepest-sleep-yet-you-are-compltely-awake

Thanks for this lovely post @saramiller.

There is so much depth to yoga, what we see in most Western studios only scratches the surface of it. For example, in addition to the styles you mention, I could point to tantra yoga and how its hatha yoga practice combines asanas with focusing on a specific chakra. Which is a whole class of its own.

I'm glad you point to classical texts like the sutras, sometimes yoga as its presented in classes today feels a bit diluted to me. And the countless 'funny yoga styles', like goat yoga and beer yoga. All good fun, but they take attention away from what yoga can really accomplish: bring about union. Of body/mind/soul, and of our being with whatever it is that is bigger than us (I'm purposely vague here, I don't care so much about the correct 'word' to call it.)

Keep up the good work, loving your posts!

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback, @livenowandwow!! I didn't even touch on tantra in this post, that is indeed a whole new realm...

If people come for the beer but stay for the yoga, that's cool to me. I think there are always benefits to any practice any way anyone can get it, but I don't really dig classes myself and find them superficial. Some people like shallow I guess and that's fine; I think the ones who get a taste of yoga's real magic will be inspired to go deeper. A good class can totally guide a student towards that connection, but I think it's up to the student to learn to cultivate the connection within themselves rather than relying on a teacher forever. It's super cool when you know how to consciously tune into that thing that's bigger than us!

I appreciate your support, @livenowandwow!

I agree Sara, any class can be the first step of what may become a lifelong journey on the yoga path. That's also how I started. I must admit I still have my ups and downs. There are times when I practice yoga daily, and there are times when I don't for months, because, well...beer and pizza, and all that jazz .

But I always keep coming back to it. Perhaps I should attend classes to establish a routine again lol.

I'm sure we'll interact more here in the coming months, Sara. I just joined Steemit a week ago, but really liking it so far. I will be posting my 'IntroduceYourself' post shortly. Just waiting for my vid from bad ass biker Big Mike…(really excited!).

Be in touch!

I have issues with yoga... I've tried so many times before but is like my brain wants but my body its not cooperating and i think its sad because the times i did it right it felt so good. Maybe im doing everything wrong, i will give it a try again.

Yoga literally rewires the system, so give yourself a break while you're doing the heavy work @blacklux!

Through a crazy amount of indoctrination, modern humans are seriously disconnected from their bodies. For just one tiny example, children aren't trusted to regulate their own body temperatures--parents tell them they "have to" put on a coat to go outside or whatever. This and thousands and millions of tiny little incidents throughout our lives teach us to listen to some external authority over our own bodies and our own innate intuition. We integrate that stuff into our subconscious, and electrical signals get misdirected in the system.

You're basically programmed to be out of touch with your body, and you literally do not have the neural connections to masterfully command it--yet. With practice, yoga can make you aware of countless parts of yourself, and you really do regrow parts of the brain and nerves to connect it to muscle tissue throughout the body. It may take time and patience, but the body learns how to do things it didn't know how to do before!

I suggest you go easy on yourself and trust the process that more control is coming. I'm really glad to hear you're going to give it another try! I know from experience that it can be frustrating at first, especially when it feels so foreign, but judgment on yourself or expecting it to look or feel a certain way adds a heavy mental and physical burden...I could get into the science of that too, it's all so fascinating!

Your words motivate me to keep trying! Thanks!

Go, @blacklux, go!!! You can do it, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it!!!!!!!!!

I can do it, i caaan!!! You're good at motivating!!

May that Supreme Shiva manifest within you and remove all limitations! @saramiller loved this post <3

I am gratefully receiving that blessing @itsgalactic!! May the force be with you. 💛

@saramiller thank you :) sending you some good positive vibes x

Thanks once again for drooping another yoga practice lesson. if one is watching the pictures of how yoga is practices, it is very facilitating. good job dear, keep it coming your students are here.

Thank you, @hynet! Let's yoga it up, my friend!

Okay dear,

I am beginning to develop much interest yoga lately.
I hope to take a lot of tips from you @saramiller

.. Following you!

Thank you, @mcekworo! I will bring you more info!

Thanks

Thank you again for another great post. Have you come across Jivamukti yoga? This is also a style my teacher does. About 2 months ago I also signed up to a website called 'Movement for Modern Life' which has helped me practice yoga more at home. You can search for classes on style, emotion, teacher, what benefit you want.... Great site for beginners and pros!!! xxx

I have heard about Jivamukti but have no experience with it. What's it about? That's cool to hear about the website you found; I love that technology is making yoga more and more accessible to people all over the world! Thanks for dropping by again, @quasimodo!

Hey, it combines scriptures, meditation, chanting, music and movement. I have probably missed something! I have only done it a couple of times - at a retreat my teacher did and a class. She usually does a different type of class in my area but I'm planning to try and go once a month to her Jivamukti class not far from me.
And also yes, its great that technology helps people reach yoga better x

What a wonderful post. It was perfect for me. Thank you @saramiller , I had no idea that hatha yoga was an umbrella term encompassing (or the root of) other styles of yoga! I really appreciated the history outline, what is known of it, and references to the Marahabata and the Bhagvad Gita both of which I am inspired to re-read.

There is no time like the present, no time like any other.

...of the self through the self to the self...

Off I go. Farewell to all.

Peace and blessings

Oh great @doubletorus I'm so glad to hear it brought you benefit!!! Excellent user name, btw...Peace ☮

Thanks for the compliment. I owe it all to Nassim Haramein. Before I listened to him, I had never heard of a doubletorus or given any thought at all to the geometry of the universe from here to negative infinity, from here to positive infinity.

Yesterday I decided to do my yoga practice in the morning, but since I didn't want to put things off, I looked for a short yoga video for beginners on YouTube, a meditation video and also a Mozart video for running. I re-designed my morning ritual to include everything. And then I did my new morning ritual on Sunday afternoon to work out the kinks and to just get started! So this morning, I got up at 4AM and went through my new routine. It was awesome! I can do this! The "sound track"that I cobbled together works well and I couldn't be more pleased. (My first client is at 6AM, that's the main reason I begin my day so early.)

Thanks again, @saramiller.

Bless that Nassim Haramein! Are you familiar with Randy Powell and/or Marko Rodin?

There is something magical about being awake so early, and taking the time just to care for yourself 💛

Thank you, I will have to check out Powell and Rodin and their vortex mathematics...looks like agyle to me! lol. Blessings to all. Wishing everyone that magic time. Peace and love.

very informative :)

hi again
Years ago,my mom forced me to go to a yoga lesson and after the lesson I felt very tired and experience muscle soreness.Is it ok?

Good day, @angelababy! Yes I've definitely had classes that made me tired and sore!

...but maybe it was particularly exhausting because you didn't really want to be there--you say your mom forced you to go. Resisting something or wanting to be somewhere else, basically just not enjoying yourself wherever you are with whoever you're with, burns up a huge amount of energy.

oh i see,thanks for answering me!!!