When you begin learning yoga basics, one of the first things to know is that the mind-body regimen is for everyone – people of all different backgrounds, body types and levels of well-being. With that in mind, a yoga expert recently explained in The Huffington Post that yoga beginners should think about what they expect from yoga.
As an example, instructor Alanna Kaivalya pointed HuffPo to an internet clip that's been making the rounds, one that depicts a solo practitioner doing very advanced poses and stretches in an expensive high-rise loft.
The practitioner herself practices poses that would make even some yoga teachers blanch: headstands, splits and press handstands that might give gymnasts a run for their muscular money. The whole three-minute clip is set to quiet ambient music.
Kaivalya explains that the video is very inspirational. It is also not a very accurate representation of what yoga classes are like, she adds.
"The reality is that in classes, some of the most graceful practitioners are overweight [or] well out of their 20s. Some are also male," Kaivalya writes. "This discrepancy has long been a complaint of fashion and media, though both of those elements exist in yoga here in the west."
Essentially, she recommends not basing one's expectations of yoga on the positions practiced by the most advanced and limber enthusiasts in the country.
Instead, stick to yoga regimens that start you off with gentle, soothing yoga basics poses.
