Beginners Yoga Class – Tip #2

Beginners Yoga Class Tip #2: Leave your judgement at the door

If you’re thinking of signing up to a beginners yoga class, perhaps your biggest concern is the fear of judgement. Let’s face it, we can’t help but start imagining a worst case scenario, a beginners yoga class packed with spandex-clad yoga-bodies achieving pretzel like feats of yogic manipulation.

In truth, we know this isn’t going to be the case. By its very nature, a beginners yoga class is going to be full of beginners! Yes, we may have a couple of flexible bodies in the room, but as we discussed in Top Tip #1 For Beginners Yoga Classes, a beginners yoga class is not really about flexibility, this is something that will just come to you over time.

The truth of the matter is that no-one is really looking at you and judging you – they’re too busy worrying about their own performance. If they are judging you, then they’re filling they’re own head with distraction. This is, therefore, their problem and not yours.

With regards to our ability to actually do the postures, you need to understand that you have spent years getting your body into whatever shape it’s in now. Everybody, regardless of fitness levels, has parts of their body which are not optimal – if this was not the case no-one 

would need to go to a beginners yoga class!

Perfect form is defined by your body

We need to understand that there is no such thing as perfect form in a posture. Our alignment must be correct but the way the posture should look should not be defined by some book or website. The way a posture should look is defined by the capabilities of your own body. A posture, therefore, is going to look different depending on who is doing it. Rather than chasing after an imagined perception of the perfect posture, your energy is much better spent by gently working into the posture according to the ability of your own body. Once you find your edgeOur edge is the point in a posture where we start to feel resistance and begin to explore that edge you have a perfect posture…regardless of how it looks!

Above all, don’t take yourself or your beginners yoga class too seriously. Yes, you’re there to improve yourself but there’s a lot of pleasure to be had from learning yoga so make sure you leave your judgement at the door and really enjoy your time in class.