10 Top Yoga Tips

By Gina Hardy

If you are thinking of starting Yoga or have been practicing for a long time, here are my precious experience morsels! Consider these Yoga tips the next time you hit the mat:

The Top 10 Yoga Tips

Yoga Tips 1. BREATH IS EVERYTHING! – any good teacher will tell you that letting your breath lead your practice is the key. Your ability to connect deeply to yourself is through your breath. Your breath tells you everything about your bodily state from stress to peace. Learn breath work well!

Yoga Tips 2. POSTURE WORK (ASANA) IS THIRD ON THE LIST – behind breath work (Pranayam) and meditation. Cutting shapes on the yoga mat is nothing without connection to yourself and a steady mind. It becomes mere fitness otherwise.

Yoga Tips 3. BE SAFE – safe alignment of joints and looking after our bones must be a priority. Yoga is not a cure all and you can wear and tear and injure joints if you are not mindfully aware of your body in practice.

Yoga Tips 4. STEADINESS & EASE – If I can call it ‘goals’ for the purpose of this blog, then Sukham/Sthira (steadiness/ ease) would be it. Aiming to bring yourself into harmony with the breath and doing asana (posture work) at the same time feels like heaven in my experience!

Yoga Tips 5. BE PRESENT – don’t you hear that a lot? It means be fully aware in the moment of what you are doing. Use your breath to guide you and notice how much you see/hear/taste in every moment. It will bring a richer experience.

Yoga Tips 6. BODY TALK – mostly people’s minds lead their practice, which can mean pushing your body for the sake of copying someone else in class, for example. Mind lead practice doesn’t give you the most benefits. Let your body guide you through. LISTEN to the AMAZING physical creation that you are.

Yoga Tips 7. TRANSLATE IN CLASS – as teachers, we have to give a broad range of instruction and not all of it will make sense in your body, SO take what makes sense, ask your body if there is a fit and then throw the rest away. YOUR Yoga is the best yoga!