So many people think they can’t “do” yoga. That’s primarily because North Americans view as a form of exercise, that only young bendy people do. Yoga is so much more than the physical practice for the body, but also includes breathing and meditation that can help calm the mind & nourish the spirit. In fact the hardest thing about yoga is parking the ego.
That’s why one of the benefits of having an online yoga practice is that it eliminates the tendency to look over and see what someone else is doing. When we do this, and see that maybe our posture doesn’t look the same as the person beside us, then then we strain and can create an injury.
There are over 20 different types of yoga – to start I recommend you decide on what style of yoga that resonates with you. Some of the more popular practices are:
- Restorative or Yin – very gentle practice where you hold the postures for up to 8 minutes each, allowing you to go deeper into the body’s muscles and fascia.
- Vinyasa – dynamic, heart-pumping style that you will typically find at a ‘hot’ yoga studio
- Iyengar – a practise that is heavily focused on using props such as blankets, chairs and bolsters to help support each posture
- Ashtanga – set sequence of poses
- Hatha – the most ancient style, which is what I teach that is a blend of holding postures and using your breath to flow between postures. I personally like this type of practice as I believe it more mindful and meditative, plus motion helps our emotions.
Regardless of what style you end up choosing, each style uses the same basic postures. Depending on what your needs are, is how you will end up choosing the right style for yourself. Do you want to…
- Improve your balance?
- Increase your strength?
- Become more mobile or flexible?
- Or maybe you are seeking pain relief from a bad back?
Once you consider your needs, you will want to focus on how frequently you want to practice. For example, if you need something to relieve back pain. You may want to consider doing a yoga practice a couple of days a week – one for core strength one day, and perhaps hamstrings another day.
Once you find a yoga style that meets your needs, and you know what you want to focus on, the next thing you will need to decide on is the right teacher. It primarily boils down to liking their style of sequencing the different postures together, and their explanations as to the benefits of the postures, and how to get in and out of them with ease.
To help you decide if Hummingbird Yoga offers the right practice for you, check out my video library to see a selection of practices that focus on different needs such as building strength and flexibility through practices focusing on different areas of the body. Subscribe and you will have unlimited monthly access to practice as little or as much as you want.