Lexi Yoga, Guest Writer
Waking Times

Yoga is a disciplined adventure of self-discovery – and the best time to embark on your inner pilgrimage is right now!

The basic practices of yoga include slow gentle exercise, deep rhythmic breathing, profound relaxation, mental concentration and positive thinking with a meditative attitude. The experience can be sweet and blissful when you embark on your quest to put the theoretical knowledge of yoga into your daily life.

Don’t wait until all the conditions in your life are perfect – things will never be perfect. All you need is a chunk of quiet time that you resolve to dedicate to your practice. Before you begin, decide how long you are going to practice. Set aside a block of time when you are not committed to doing anything else. If you have young children, nap time is perfect. Remove the pots from the stove and turn off your phone.

Before you begin, choose a yoga practice that’s right for you. Most videos you see online are only guidelines and suggestions, which are great to start with. However, you may find that you prefer to design your own routine, and do some postures that you are comfortable with. Some days you may feel that it’s appropriate to skip certain asanas and add others. Don’t allow yourself to be tempted into doing only postures that you like. You tend to enjoy what you are good at, so you might find it advisable to focus more on the poses that you don’t like. These are probably the ones that are giving you trouble, and are challenge, but really you just need more practice. One of the goals of yoga is to bring you into a state of physical and mental balance.

You may chose to practice a yoga routine on a daily basis in order to perfect it, or just go with how you’re feeling on that particular day. Some days when you are more energetic, you may chose to do a more vigorous routine. At other times, when you are tired or feeling particularly stiff, you may find it better to revert to a very basic routine.

Remember that stretching and counter-stretching are both very important, as you want your whole body to be balanced. Don’t leave out backward bends because you are feeling stiff – but do leave out inversions if you are menstruating.

Don’t practice yoga immediately after you have eaten. It is best to wait at lease two hours after you have had a meal. If you are planning to go to a class after work and feel very hungry, then have some juice or a cup of tea to tide you over.

About the Author

Lexi Yoga is a yoga enthusiast who took her 200 hour Teacher’s Training Course in Toronto, and 30 hour Yin Yoga Certification Course in Ottawa. She is quite the health nut, who lives a healthy lifestyle mainly consisting of – eat, sleep & yoga. She enjoys making instructional yoga videos on her successful YouTube channel. You can visit her website – LexiYoga.com and follow her daily life on Twitter, and Facebook.

This article is offered under Creative Commons license. It’s okay to republish it anywhere as long as attribution bio is included and all links remain intact.

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