yoga guide

Yoga has become a very common household name these days and have gained immense popularity in the Western World over last several years. This is due to its simplicity and super effectiveness. But although mostly Yoga is not too difficult to perform, but nonetheless, many individuals can face some few common difficulties while starting out.

Initial Pain and Discomfort:

The most common difficulty that a large number of beginners face is the stiffness of muscles that cause a considerable amount of discomfort and pain while practicing some of the Yoga poses. This is due to the reason that their body is not yet acquired the flexibility required for those poses.

The matter worsens for those, where the Yogi is supposed to hold the pose for several seconds for it to be truly effective. It is very natural to experience muscle aches during these poses and it does not necessarily indicate any serious issue.

An example will be the Warrior pose or the Virabhadrasana. This particular pose needs the thigh muscles to be stable and strong, so if that of the practitioner is weak, it can turn out to be quite difficult to hold the pose for a longer duration without the legs quivering. But this is quite natural in the onset.

The key is not to get daunted by this issue. Because the muscles need time and regular practice to become flexible and strong. And as time passes, with repeated practice of the same pose, will make the muscles appropriate and the pain and discomfort will go away completely. So hang on there!!

The Cost Factor:

The other most common difficulty is the cost factor associated with regular Yoga practice. It seems in recent times, the general thought process of many Yoga beginners and intermediate practitioners revolves round the merchandise that is needed to “appropriately” practice Yoga.

While some of these costs may be justified but one has to understand what exactly might be necessary and what are not. Since Yoga is a big industry these days, so the availability of numerous Yoga related merchandise is too common everywhere. Thus, if allowed, it can well be a costly affair.

The necessities are endless, starting from simple Yoga mats, to expensive equipment, fitness gears, accessories, headbands, dresses and the list goes on and on. And above all these, Yoga guides, books, DVDs and commercial Yoga classes or private instructors makes it even more confusing and expensive.

But the main question that arises from all this is – how much of all these is actually necessary?

The answer probably varies from person to person but it can be inferred without doubt that for a beginner, it does not need to be expensive at all. Now, Yoga has been practiced in India for thousands of years and costly equipment were not needed at that time.

Only two main things are necessary –

1. A good Yoga mat and there are tons of places where inexpensive Yoga mats are available
2. A Yoga guide be it a physical book or a DVD or online instructions. If it is too difficult to lay hands on a book or DVD, then YouTube is an excellent place for a ton of free resources.

Just by researching on the internet, huge amount of free information can be found on Yoga, and its various poses with instructions, which can be sufficient to begin with.

Getting Authentic Guidance:

The third difficulty is somewhat related to the above point. It is regarding unqualified instructors. Many Yoga students do not even realize the fact that their instructors may not be genuine, since it is all too much easy these days to get a false certificate in virtually any field.

Since Yoga instructors do not really need to be certified by a standard or centralized institution, so many of them get away with their limited knowledge which can, at the end, prove to be rather dangerous for the students.

So it is always advisable to only go to reputable workout institutions who are offering any Yoga classes and also to carefully check the credentials of the instructor/s. Also just by referring to a good Yoga book written by well known Yoga expert or by following a practice regime through a DVD or online course from a reputable organization can also be quite effective and sufficient.

Time Management:

Last but not the least comes the most prevalent difficulty of the 21st century. That of time. In today’s super fast digital age most people hardly have time for workout and even if they do manage to get time for Yoga everyday, they end up stressing up their everyday life.

One thing has to be remembered that the practice of Yoga is meant for relaxation and de-stressing the mind, but if this practice itself becomes the reason for stress, then it beats the purpose. So time management is extremely vital, because with Yoga, the importance of sufficient rest is paramount.

Although seemingly difficult, one way to manage time is to cut down a bit on less necessary and unproductive activities like watching TV, drinking with friends, spending hours in social networks over smartphone etc. For good health and mind everyone must be ready for a little bit of sacrifice.

It is also important to set aside a time for Yoga everyday and religiously maintain it. It is of no use to practice Yoga for 1 week and then forget about it for the next two. The time set aside for Yoga does not have to be long right at the beginning. Also during initial days it is fine to go ahead with a regime that involves only 3-4 days a week.

And as time progresses and practitioner becomes more and more comfortable and familiar with the different poses and regular timings, it can be incorporated more frequently in daily life.

As time progresses with diligent practice of Yoga everyday, life, without a scope of doubt, will become much more healthy, fulfilling and stress free.

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