1) Avoid coming to class with a full stomach
It is best to wait 2 hours after eating to practice yoga. You may have a light snack like a banana prior to doing yoga. When you have a full stomach, not only are most yoga poses uncomfortable, but blood supply is funneled to your stomach to process the nutrients from your food, leaving your muscles shortchanged on the energy they need for a successful practice.
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2) Don’t forget to breathe
Focus on breathing. Simply breathe in and out through the nose, maintaining a slight contraction in the back of the throat. The first thing you need to think of especially in the challenging poses.
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3) Avoid pushing yourself too hard
Being honest to yourself and avoid to push yourself too hard. Yoga should never feel painful. If it starts to, back off. Yoga is all about awareness, about listening to your body’s subtle signals, and responding accordingly.
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4) Empty your mind
It is hard to clear our mind and not to think of the things are happening around us. A lot of questions are keep floating in our head all the time. One of the top reasons why people practice yoga, is to learn to make an effort to quieten their mind. Sacrificing both your form and the mind-body connection that comes with a focused practice. By concentrating on your body and your breath, you can help tune out the distractions in your head.
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5) Don’t rush into advanced poses
Being able to complete the foundational ones helps to ensure you have the strength, balance, and flexibility needed to tackle more advanced moves. When you rush into advanced poses, it’s very difficult to hold the correct posture, meaning you won’t use the right muscles, and you can risk injury. Remember, the basics poses are great strengtheners in and of themselves. Try to take advantage of them.
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6) Don’t compare yourself to others
People are practicing at different levels in every class. “Every body is different, and yoga is about treating your individual body,” Focusing on your body and allowing yourself to grow your own practice. It is your journey, you choose to where to do and enjoy every moment.
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7) Find the right yoga class with the right instructor
There are a wide range of yoga levels and styles out there that may or may not suit your needs and preferences. I believe everyone is searching for different types of yoga to practice, some people are looking for intensive yoga practices but others prefer relaxing and gentle. Take your time to find the right class and check with the instructor if you are not sure.
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8) Enjoy the cool-down
By focusing on stretching postures and deep relaxation, the cool down can help prevent muscle soreness, enhance flexibility, and slowly lower your heart rate and blood pressure to prevent dizziness. Normally we will do some easy spinal twists and few seated poses. There are always just a few minutes left in class for Savasana. It is usually the last pose done and the most important part of a yoga practice. So allowing yourself in this precious moment to let go your thought and enjoying this final relaxation.
Namaste,
Carmen Lee-Schneider
