Can Beginners Do Ashtanga Yoga?

Ashtanga Yoga

Human lives have gotten busier.  The hectic work or study schedules and the distraction of mobile phones do not let them maintain a healthy lifestyle, and there is no ‘me time’ for anyone. One has to make time for oneself.  And try to achieve healthy standards of life, for a peaceful mind and a fit body.

There are several ways in which this could happen.  Exercises, yoga and diet could significantly improve your take on a healthy lifestyle. Yoga, in particular, has been popular these days. It is because of their positive effects not only on physical aspects of your body but also your mental health.  One such Yoga type is Ashtanga Yoga. Like many other types of Yoga, it requires you to wake up early and practice a few body movements.  Performing this yoga under the early hours of the day can help you make up for some nutritional intake as well. For instance, the morning’s sunlight is most beneficial for stimulating the uptake of Vitamin D1.

Both; Yoga and Vitamin D1 are important facilitators of good mental and physical health.  Let’s learn more about Ashtanga Yoga.

What is Ashtanga Yoga?

An athletic form of yoga in which body postures are made to flow continuously into other movements is Let using Yoga.  The poses are also known as Asanas. The asanas performed in the Ashtanga yoga are carried out in the same order, making sure that the breath count remains the same. This flexible form of yoga requires you to have patience, agility, and self-control.

It demands time and flexibility. But in the end, it does return you with what you need most. It makes you disciplined and brings harmony to your mind, body and soul.

Here is How Astanga Yoga is Performed

Ashtanga is simply translated into the eight limbs of yoga.  This Yoga requires your movements and breath count to be in a sort of synchronization. The movements become tough as you move along, while your breath count should remain the same.  The whole practice of Ashtanga Yoga revolves around eight principles.

  • Yamas (moral cannon)
  • Niyama (self-Discipline)
  • Asana(posture)
  • Pratyahara (breath control)
  • Dharana (concentration)
  • Dhyana (meditation)
  • Samadhi (oneness with self)
  •  Pranayama (breath control)

Among all these principles, three are given the most importance. These are Pranayama, Dharana, and Asana. It is believed that practicing these three could invite the others to settle well with you.

An overview of the yoga steps can be explained like this. It begins with sets of Sun Salutation A and B. It is followed by certain standing poses, your master will let you know about the repetitions required in these poses. Soon after, you will move to seat poses.  These are just beginner-level guides. Once you practise tied these postures, you will be promoted to learn more in the advanced sessions.

How Do You Get Started, If You Want To Keep Going

With all the physical demands that Ashtanga yoga requires, one may start feeling unable to keep up with the toughness. This yoga form is indeed demanding and daunting, but there is always a first time and first step. You are not directly plunged into the middle of an ocean as vast as Ashtanga Yoga is in itself. You are given a few baby steps to pursue and get used to the complexity of it.

These baby steps improve your concentration, agility, and bring a new kind of athleticism in you. If you focus on your instructor and follow their advice word to word, you can excel in these.

Furthermore, if you have put your mind to it, then get one of your friends convinced to join you. Both of you and even if more friends; better it would be, will be able to encourage you and make time for it.  You can take YouTube lessons and be very strict about your routine and punctuality.

Also, you should choose a place where you want to exhibit all the preparations for yoga. This is important because entering such premises will automatically bring your mind’s attention to yoga. Being at home and practicing it could be a bit harder, as there will always be something else to do. But if you could have a regular partner, it could make things easier.

Obstacles To a Successful Start-The Deadly Combination of Ambition and Impatience

Remember that yoga is a spiritual journey. It serves you three major services; harmony of mind, health to the body, and a curing effect on the soul. But all these things happen when you work with consistency.
often at the time, the beginners see a glimpse of a person performing yoga and get a calm vibe and aura from them. They become ambitious to gain that sort of personality. But in doing so, they become impatient too. And Man is it a bad combination.

The primary focus of the Ashtanga or any other form of yoga is to strip you of being ambitious and impatient. All it is supposed to do is to calm you and make you worried and obsessed over something. But if you become engrossed in the outcomes, and start patience, the whole exercise of yoga would lose its core.

Moreover, you will be wasting your own time. Each session of Ashtanga needs 90 minutes to be completed. Many Masters suggest that you should practice it six days a week.  Its effects start lasting you once you have learned which in itself is not easy. So, if you are being ambitious and impatient, it might not be a fruitful experience for you.

Another trap that you may get woven into would be the thought of getting injured. Some asanas of the Ashtanga Yoga could be difficult and the beginners think that they would have severe injuries and cramped muscles. But the reality is that you do not start with the difficult poses from day one. It is all a gradual process and your body ultimately develops a system of adapting to the yoga postures. However, if you are impatient, and want to try out the most challenging postures, that could yield serious bursts of pain in your muscles. You may trip over if you lose balance. So, it’s always better to take one step at a time.

The Most Important Thing is To Be Sincere

Sincerity towards achieving your goals will take you places. It stands indifferent to continuing with the Yoga routine. You may feel intimidated by not being able to manifest a perfect posture. What matters is that you try. And do not let your sincerity be overcome by a fear of failure. A lot of the time, people misjudge the whole practice session as something they cannot get better at and are truly insincere during their trainee period.

Hence, it is important to understand that you have to remain firm in your efforts and sincere in your intentions as well as actions to be able to put out a great display.

As a Beginner to Ashtanga Yoga, Don’t Overlook the Fundamentals

We have already mentioned the eight fundamental principles of Ashtanga. For every yogi, it is important to pay attention to all of these. The three fundamentals most masters recommend paying special attention to as a beginner are Pranayama, Dharana, and Asana.

Pranayama

It is a breathing practice. It is aimed at bringing your body to acclimatize to the conditions. It warms your body.  It polishes your attention levels as well as enables you to stimulate your body. This technique advances for students. Once the beginners start showing progress, they are introduced to further levels. At the fresher level, you are just given a brief about it and asked to show short bursts of this exercise unless you are fully ready to get used to the advanced levels.

Dharana

This is the sixth limb and can be practiced routinely. If you know the previous postures, this one is relatively easier. It is a comfortable seated position. It allows you to build your focus power while the tension in your muscles would try to distract you.

Asana

Poses like standing still or sun salutation, and the noose pose etc. are all asana. Asana is the meditating position. During your learning practices, you are introduced to different series of asana. Series one would have different poses while series two will have others. It continues to work like this. More and more asana are taught to you and you have to incorporate them in your daily 90 minutes’ session.

Choose a Suitable Teacher- a Good One, Not a Popular One

Yet another important aspect of any activity is choosing the right people. You should learn from the best people. There are a lot of self-proclaimed best teachers. You could also find many tutorials by people being complete novices themselves and uploading tutorials on the internet. Only knowledge is not important. One has to be skillful in the ways postures are acted out. And not anyone who has the knowledge and can also practice postures nice enough will be able to teach you greatly. Therefore, choose your teacher carefully.

Consistency is Important in All We Do

Six days a week, this practice could give you a hard time. However, if you do it regularly but in smaller chunks, that could work with you. The basic principle is to learn to focus, and not be distracted by any worldly force. It is your health and your power multiplying, so you need to remain consistent. Follow the steps religiously. Do not give up on feelings of laziness. Work on yourself, and for yourself. Be punctual and take classes regularly.

Why Should You Pick Up The Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga is important in many aspects. It is quite challenging and that is why you should practice it with more determination, in the first place. It has helped many people with anxiety and depression. Its difficult steps, numerous postures, with the breathing pattern and the way it makes you sweaty, do make it a daunting task. But if you ask us if it is worth it? Our answer will be an affirmative one. Why?

Strength:

This Yoga helps you strengthen up.  Sometimes you have to manage your whole body weight onto one part of your body, for instance, a leg. In instances like these, your muscular strength is developed. Also, the longer you stay in that posture, the more you build up your willpower.

Weight Loss

If you are not a person who likes to go out and run in the park every morning, then how about practicing ashtanga? Ashtanga is particularly helpful in losing weight.  During its performance, your heart rate is maintained at a high end. You are constantly sweating and burning fat.

if you are obese, you may feel like your body cannot stretch enough. But once you are into it, you will see an unparalleled change in your body’s weight and flexibility.

Flexibility

Your athleticism has improved too. As mentioned earlier, your perseverance in maintaining your postures allow your muscles to get used to those postures. They get warmed up and it’s easy to stretch your body.

Controlling  Stress and Anxiety

Nothing beats anxiety and stress more than a good yoga session. Many yogis have confessed to this. They started yoga as a cure to their anxieties, and never looked back.  These exercises help you to relax your mind. Since it is a war against yourself and all the distractions of the world, ashtanga gets you into an intriguing journey and an immersing effect that you forget your problems. Once enchanted by the effects, you care less about the unnecessary issues that otherwise nag your mind and heart.

Prevention from Injuries

This yoga exercise helps your body become quite athletic. It improves your reflexes as a result of which you are not at risk of contracting injuries. You always have improved stamina and flexibility to escape injuries.

Final Words

Ashtanga Yoga is a dance; a dance of your breath with your body. Both intertwined put out a classic show. This kind of meditation helps you relax your mind and enter another realm. It eases your pain and has a positive impact on your body. You can avail of its classes from many of the skilful masters. Some even have their videos recorded onto the CDs and you can watch them on screen while working out.