In modern society, yoga has become something akin to a cult that has its ardent admirers around the world. Each fitness center offers yoga teacher services. More knowledgeable seek a yoga studio for practice or even a spiritual teacher. Yoga mats, meditation beads, logo pants and smart books flooded commercial Internet pages as actively as weight loss simulators, diet food and the need for relaxation in Turkey. 80% of all average women at least once tried to do yoga under the guidance of an instructor or, because of their complexity, at home according to the book "Yoga for Women" by Gita Iyengar, or under a video of untwisted yoginis.
Why is yoga necessary for every person?
The benefits of yoga for women are undeniable, and if you make a compact release, it will look like this:
- Regular practice of yoga asanas makes a woman’s body the way she wants to see it: slim, fit, flexible, but strong.
- Yoga poses introduce a person anew not only to his body, but also to his personality and character.
- Problems with the spine and with the entire musculoskeletal system, which are the scourge of modern society, suffering from a sedentary lifestyle, go away.
- Diligent practice of breathing exercises (pranayama) improves the functioning of internal organs, makes the psyche stable, and also gives the ability to concentrate on one object, without spraying yourself into dozens of things at once, thereby plunging yourself into everyday stress.
- Meditation provides an opportunity to permanently get rid of concepts such as fear, irritation, aggression, dissatisfaction with life and so on.
- Yoga as a whole teaches to accept oneself as they are, without trying to conform to the invented canons of beauty, intelligence and social status.
This is only a fraction of what yoga is useful for women, but even these factors can significantly affect life and its quality.
Can yoga be harmful?
This question is also often encountered in people taking their first steps in this area. After all, the benefits of yoga for women have been repeatedly proven. Harm is rarely mentioned, or they prefer to keep silent consciously. Of course, yoga, as well as other types of self-knowledge and cultivation, can do much harm.
Someone wondered: is it harmful to do aikido or pumping biceps in the gym? Of course, if you are inadequately related to these classes: do not follow the instructions for the exercises and the correct technique, do not follow safety rules and generally neglect the process. Also with women in yoga classes.
If we consider this science to be just a pleasant pastime without going into details, harm is ensured, and if you carefully follow the instructions of the teacher and develop awareness of the practice, then the pleasant bonuses described above will not keep you waiting. As one of the great yoga masters said:
The only contraindication for doing yoga is inadequacy.
Where to start mastering yoga at home?
Familiarity with yoga for women should begin with three parallel aspects:
- Ability to breathe correctly.
- Mastering basic postures and Surya Namaskar.
- Conscious relaxation of currently inactive muscle groups and tracking the state of mind.
These three factors must be combined together, then it will be possible to say that a person is engaged in yoga, and not just perform some gymnastic exercises at the level of physical education.
The first exercises for beginners
Yoga for women, however, for any person, should begin with preparing the body for deep practice. This can be dynamic Surya Namaskar or joint-tendon gymnastics (Sukshma-vyayama) for high-quality warming up of the body due to increased blood circulation and harmonization of prana flows in the smallest parts of the body.
Short pranayamas are also well prepared for further practice: kapalabhati or bhastrika, which activate the work of the brain and the cardiovascular system, qualitatively increasing the level of classes.
It is advisable to learn all these techniques from an experienced teacher who will give comprehensive instructions and answer questions arising in the process that cannot be obtained by watching a video lesson or reading Iyengar's “Yoga for Women”.
After all, if the basic things are not mastered correctly, then further actions will also be distorted, turning into a kind of snowball, which can crush an inexperienced practitioner.
The importance of proper breathing
The basis of yoga is conscious breathing. It is on this basis that all practice is based, as the movement of a car directly depends on the quantity and quality of fuel. Breathing is a litmus for checking the quality of a posture: if you can’t breathe calmly and deeply, then the asana (posture) is incorrectly built up or a too complicated version of its execution is chosen.
Also, breathing shows how calm and focused the mind is during yoga. After all, a relaxed breath is impossible with mental stress, and a sharp exhale is an indicator of the inability to relax in stressful moments.
For reference: on average, the length of the inspiration is three to four seconds, exactly the same amount of exhalation lasts. Unfortunately, many people even in a passive, relaxed state cannot breathe in such a rhythm and begin to suffocate. This is an indicator that their chest and lungs are in a deplorable state, and if you do not sound the alarm, by the age of 40 the first diseases associated with these zones will appear.
The first steps in yoga for beginner women can begin simply with the ability to breathe and awareness of this process as often as possible: at work, in a queue for bread or a walk before bedtime. And when the body learns to breathe - you can proceed to the development of the first poses.
Basic video tutorial for starting
The simple yoga exercises for women presented on this video will not replace the teacher, but will help you understand what you will have to deal with in the studio in a group lesson, when a person decides to take it seriously.
Do not rush and do everything at once, it’s better to do everything in detail, to feel the zone of influence of each asana, to learn how to properly build and adjust the position of the body, and only then move on.
What you should pay attention to?
In the process of yoga, it is important for women to focus on their condition and draw conclusions from it: if the most simple and non-stressful body and mind poses are chosen, then the approach to practice is chosen incorrectly. If, on the contrary, only heavy asanas are used, motivating themselves with the fact that the effect is faster, then this is an erroneous idea of yoga. This is not a competition who is cooler, but a conscious work on the analysis and elimination of problems, whether it be a physical or subtle body.
In yoga, the details that make it possible to see the essence are important.
In working with the physical body, it is important to adhere to several basic safety techniques:
- The correct position of the knee joints relative to the entire axis of the leg.
- Always try to open the chest for more free breathing.
- Constantly monitor the extension of the spine in each asana.
- In no case do not make sudden movements when entering or leaving asana. Sudden uncontrolled movement is a potential injury.
- In inverted positions (Sarvangasana, Halasana) never lean on the back of the head or use the neck as the main point of support. This action lies on the shoulder girdle.
- In twisting the spine around its axis, do not use your hands as a lever, trying to push the body into a deeper version. This is fraught with big problems.
Should women do “power” yoga?
It happens that starting to do yoga for weight loss, women “not sparing their belly”, with painful minutes they punch the planks, twist vinyasas in Ashtanga yoga to the point of insanity and treat themselves with diverse sticks in their hands with addiction.
Is it really necessary for a fragile woman, in fact. Or should women's yoga practice consist solely of stretching, relaxing and total relaxation poses? If we look at the origins of yoga, then one of the few differences in male and female practice is the “Lady Holiday,” as male teachers correctly call menstruation days. In these few days a woman should not practice a point.
And the rest, the practice of yoga for women is no different from men's. Where adequacy is more important. And it’s much more important to balance classes, performing exactly 50/50 power and relaxing poses, achieving balance and harmony, as, however, in everything. Then yoga becomes yoga, which is an indicator of the right path.
How to make a complex for home classes?
In order to make up your small yoga complex, it is important for a woman to know several basic rules:
- Warm up - first of all. It takes at least 15 minutes from the start of the lesson.
- Standing position, working with the main large muscles: Triconasana, all versions of the warrior posture, Parshvakonasana and similar poses are done immediately after warming up. Why? If the large muscle is pinched, then naturally it will not allow it to go deeper and smaller, and surface practice is ineffective.
- After followed by sitting, kneeling or lying on his stomach. Here, the spectrum of exposure is very extensive, depending on the level of practice and the recommendations of his teacher. Without the necessary knowledge, to compose a complex of exercises is fraught with health problems. It’s better to use a reputable teacher’s video course if you don’t have the opportunity to go to a yoga studio.
- Inverted positions are made closer to the end of the session, when the body is well stretched and warmed up. It is important not to rush to make difficult poses, but to dwell on simpler ones, using a folded blanket, belt or a tight roller made of fabric as a means at hand.
Be sure to at the end of each yoga class should be a pose for relaxation, in which the body rests, and the mind processes the information received or received from the body. If the level of practice is high, then Shavasana (posture of relaxation) can be replaced by a session of meditation.
What poses is best to start with?
In order for success in yoga to be more tangible, you need to start with basic positions that give an understanding of how to properly control the body. To do this, use the following poses:
- To master the main movement - folding in the hip joints, it is worth starting with Padangusthasana and Paschimotanasana. Despite their apparent simplicity, these two poses are key in mastering more complex asanas. When detuning, it is only important to ensure that the spine maintains a straight line, and the movement is due to the movement of the pelvis, resembling a folded penknife.
- Various options Triconasana and Parshvakonasana will learn to work in lateral traction, liberating the hip joints and smoothly stretching the side lines of the torso. Also, these poses introduce the practitioner to the main muscle of the body - the iliopsoas. The key to mastering the same: a straight line of the spine. But at the same time, it is important here to control the position of the knees relative to the feet and hip joints, keeping them in the same plane.
- Halasana is used to work with the muscles of the back, especially the thoracic and neck, when the legs are behind the head. For many, this position is too difficult, but if you put your feet on a wall or chair nearby, then the asana will become more comfortable.
An example of a competent lesson for beginners
This video shows in full what a lesson should be for beginners: there are detailed explanations, there is no rate of change of asanas, and moreover, simplified options are shown.
If you are new to yoga and do not have the opportunity to regularly attend a teacher in the studio, you can take this video lesson as a basis for taking the first steps in yoga.