Not sure what to do in yoga class? Ask teacher

Attending your first and subsequent yoga classes can seem daunting to many of us and really should not need be. Your teacher will be helping you through these first few weeks and actually these weeks can be the beginning of a life long love affair with an ancient practice called yoga.

The start of a yoga students path is all about finding the correct alignment and how to place your body in the asanas (physical postures). Admittedly at the very beginning it can take some concentration and a few attempts before you begin to feel as though you can remember where to place your arms and legs.

I remember coming to class the first time at my Ashtanga Yoga School and watching everyone bouncing back and forth across their mats. They all seemed so sure of themselves and what they were doing. I felt something very different to that. This style of yoga seemed quite complicated to me and I found it difficult to concentrate on my own practice and was drawn to watching the antics happen around me.

My teacher then stepped in and began the slow but uplifting process of helping me to get my body in the correct position and my mind on my breath. This was indeed a slow and long process but my teacher helped a little bit each day.

She did not ever allow me to feel less because I did not know which posture came next or where my left arm should be or even were my eyes should be looking. The job of a yoga teacher is to teach and that is why the students come to class. Yoga can and does release a lot of joy within and it is better to have a laugh if you are falling over rather than feel silly. Everyone takes a tumble now and then in yoga class, physically or metaphorically .

It does not take many classes until the postures and their correct position and alignment begin to fall into place. This is great and students will begin to feel some comfort and confidence in what they are doing. Witnessing a group of people working together in their own way is a blessing and very much part of what the yoga philosophy is all about.

It is during these first few weeks and months that a beginner’s body and mind can really open up to the path of yoga. This can be illuminating and inspiring for both the teacher and student. A good teacher will nuture and grow these feelings of inspiration, whatever the style of student. A beginners deserves as much attention and respect as an advanced student.

Yoga is an ancient tradition based on body, mind and soul coming together. It is a physical practice that if practiced correctly and with an open heart and mind will bring together the spirit of the practitioner. Patanjali says in yoga sutra...... if practiced with dedication and open heart, yoga will bring a calm mind. This is possible for all people wherever they are from and whatever type of body and fitness they have. We can all learn and grow from a dedicated and true yoga practice.

I am living proof of what can happen when yoga is practiced regularly. My life has changed dramatically since that first day, looking around, having a laugh and looking out. Not in, out. I look within so regularly now that within for me is becoming fun and light filled. Give it a go.........