If you’re thinking about trying yoga out but you don’t know how to start, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know in order to roll out the matt and become a part of the yoga community. So make yourself comfortable and read on!

If you’re intimidated or overwhelmed by all those complicated poses and their complex names, don’t be! We guarantee you that every single person that started doing yoga felt exactly the same. It’s something you’ll overcome in no time. Soon after, you’ll be juggling the terms like savasana and tadasana like a pro!

Here’s what comes along with a decision to start practicing yoga.

The benefits

First thing’s first, you must learn that yoga isn’t all about poses. In fact, the physical element wasn’t even a part of yoga at first. In the ancient practice, yoga was all about the way you breathe. According to research, once you master breathing properly, you’ll be doing wonders for your body. For instance, a study has shown that after a session of 25 minutes of alternate yoga breathing, your blood pressure will drop significantly.

So a proper breathing technique in combination with physical movement can actually help you get rid of stress, mood swings, anxiety, and depression. In addition to that, yoga poses are there to help you become more flexible, coordinated, and strong.

Essentially, if you’re still considering whether you should try doing yoga or not, the fact that there are so many mental and physical benefits to it should help you decide.

Differences in yoga types

If going to the yoga class still seems too dreadful, we recommend doing a little research on it. There are a number of yoga types. Go online and find the descriptions of each type. That way, you’ll learn more about yoga in general. And you’ll be able to determine which type would be the most suitable one for you.

For instance, if you’re looking  for something with a slow pace and that’s not too challenging, we’d recommend going for Hatha yoga. On the other hand, if you want to challenge yourself more, you could try Ashtanga or an advanced level of Vinyasa.

There’s also hot yoga, where you basically practice yoga in extremely hot conditions. Even though this is a great kind of workout, not everyone is a suitable candidate for it. So make sure you take that into consideration too.

All in all, our advice is to see what your neighborhood has to offer and then do a little digging on that particular type of yoga. Once you know more about it, you’ll feel way more comfortable about going to your first class.

Discovering the poses

Once you pick the type of yoga you’re willing to try out, you can do some research on the common poses. Pose names will be in English or Hindi, or even in a combination of the two. At first, it will be a bit difficult to remember them all, but practice makes perfect. Even if you’ve never done yoga, there’s no way you haven’t heard about the downward facing dog, child’s pose, cat-cow pose, and other names! Your yoga instructor will tell you everything about these poses. In addition to that, not only will you learn their names, but you’ll master doing them as well!

Final steps

Assuming you’ve decided what type of yoga you are going to try, the last thing to do is to prepare yourself for the first class. When it comes to what you’ll wear, prioritize being comfortable upon everything else. It doesn’t matter how you will look. The only thing that does matter is how you will feel.

Also, we’d like to note that it’s a good idea to have your own yoga mat. Some studios rent them for a small fee, however, you might want to have your own mat. That way, you can even work out at home if you feel like it!

Alright, guys! Grab a bottle of water, a towel, and a yoga matt, because we’re ready for our first yoga class!