Wintertime yoga for beginners

Spending more time indoors over winter need not mean whole months of inactivity. Embrace the quiet environment of home and use it as an opportunity to introduce and build up a home yoga practice.

Wellbeing benefits of yoga

The physical practice, asana, is the most well-known aspect of yoga. It is designed to relax, tone and stretch your body. It also unlocks the vibrancy we all have within us, what yogis call prana. However, yoga is much more than a mere physical practice. While physical training has many benefits, it only scratches the surface of what can be gained from practising a complete philosophy of yoga.

Home yoga practice

A home yoga practice has lots of benefits and is a great complement to other forms of exercise such as running, cycling or surfing, or a studio practice. Setting up a regular routine will enable you to commit to an ongoing, dedicated practice and if you’ve not done yoga before, it will allow you to get familiar with the sequences and start to understand your body. You can build confidence and progress comfortably at your own pace.

Here are a few tips to ensure success:

• Try to set up a regular routine Practice at the same time or days of the week to get into the flow.
• Give yourself plenty of space Spread out, set your mat up and have all of your props at hand.
• Make sure you allow enough time Relax knowing that you can complete the class and that you won’t be interrupted so you can really enjoy the full experience.
• Don’t eat just before your class You should have at least 2-3 hours break after food before practicing. If you are doing a morning class, it is best to do it on an empty stomach.
• Follow a class online or tutorial Online classes or tutorials can guide you through the basic alignment of the key postures. It’s important to follow the cues and understand how each pose works so as not to cause injury.
• Mix it up Try out a range of styles or classes to keep it fresh and inspiring.
• Remember to have fun It doesn’t matter if you don’t get it all at first. Keep practicing and the more you do, the more familiar you’ll become.

Stretch out and soothe your mind with this beginner morning yoga routine or beginner bedtime yoga routine.