1) Attended Your First Yoga Class and Thought; No Thanks, It’s Not for ME???
Bear in mind, that not every style of yoga class or every teacher will suit you. If you attend your first yoga class and think well that was rubbish! Or I really didn’t like that teacher/ yoga style because of X Y Z, please don’t give up on yoga thinking it’s just not for you. Yoga might still be for you but you simply haven’t stepped in to the right class yet.
Most new students find it takes them a while to find the yoga teacher and style of yoga that resonates with them. Because not every style of yoga will float your boat and you won’t connect with every teacher that has ever taught yoga either. It’s like asking yourself if you liked working with every kid in your school year? Chances are you didn’t because we’re all different and all drawn to different personalities and character traits.
So it’s totally ok to attend a class once and decide it’s not for you, but do continue to search for YOUR teacher and YOUR style of yoga. When you find it you’ll just know.
2) Yoga is For Every Body.
You don’t have to be flexible, spiritual, or know what you are doing before you attend a class. Yoga is for EVERY BODY. If we were all born super flexible and enlightened already you wouldn’t need to attend your first yoga class or practice yoga in the first place. The benefits of the practice come through practice.
3) No Judgement
No one will be judging you on whether you know all there is to know about yoga before your first yoga class. Or whether you can do all, some or none of the poses. We are all beginners at something at various stages in our lives and we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to learn. Plus we’re a friendly, accepting, encouraging lot, I promise.
Besides, we all started out new to yoga at some point; feeling unsure of what we were doing and probably convinced we’d never touch our toes either. But look at us now! And that can be you one day too.
4) Yogi’s Don’t Bite
Don’t be scared of your fellow students. If you arrive at your first yoga class and are wondering how the other students just seem to know where to set themselves up with their mats. Or which props to go get, don’t be afraid to ask them. Chances are they are just familiar with the set up because they are regulars with this teacher. And are familiar with the teachers style and set up. With time you will feel more familiar and at ease when you walk into class too. But remember, yogi’s are a friendly bunch of people and will be more than happy to chat to you and help you set out a mat and gather props.
5) Your First Yoga class Will Feel Hard/ Weird.
Just remember that it will likely feel hard and/ or weird at first. Firstly, you’re using your muscles in a new way, which might feel like a challenge during the class. Or make you feel sore and achey the next day. Secondly, you’re learning a completely new skill and when we are learning something new it takes a lot of focus and concentration. So embrace the fact it might take a little bit of time to start feeling comfortable enough with what you are doing, in order that you start to enter a zen like state more easily during class.
6) Training For a Marathon – go the distance.
Think of yoga like a marathon, not a sprint. After your first class you might find yourself lucky enough to be feeling amazing and more at one with yourself than you have in a long time. However, not everyone feels this amazing yoga buzz after their first class. Your first yoga class can be physically hard on the body and mind but yoga can do amazing things for our personal growth. By helping us connect to our inner, intuitive self.
So I would suggest it is worth sticking with it and seeing if your love for yoga grows on you. One day you might suddenly find yourself exploring what makes you tick, on a deeper level. But undoing old, ingrained thought patterns can take a lot of consistent, hard work over a long length of time, which is why I say yoga is like training for a marathon. You’ve got to repeatedly run the distance and show up on your mat in order to see big changes in your life.
7) During Your First Yoga Class ask questions
If there is something you don’t understand or are struggling with ask your teacher for help with it. Yoga teachers, became teachers because they love to help others learn and progress in their practice. So they will be thrilled you’re reaching out and asking them questions.
Don’t be shy, your teacher isn’t a mind reader and will likely feel they have done you a disservice if you leave class unhappy. Simply because they didn’t know you wanted help with something.
8) Yoga is about way more than just being flexible.
(But only if you want it to be).
For months and months I went to classes with the sole intention of simply increasing my flexibility to help me with my running. The mumbo-jumbo of spiritual enlightenment or understanding what namaste actually meant, was not something I was looking for, but it crept up on me anyway. Yoga has a habit of doing that if you start turning up on your mat regularly. Because the more I practiced the more aware I became of this feeling of going from stressed to calm, to open mindedness and to being at peace with myself. So, it came as a natural transition in my state of mind to start feeling curious as to why that was. Why I felt like I was turning into a nicer, more compassionate and understanding human being. Yes yoga is about more than just how open your hips and hamstrings are, but if you’re not ready to face any of that soul searching …… then that’s totally fine.
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