Teaching yoga to beginners is not easy.
This is not a complaint by the way. Introducing yoga to first timers is very cool. I’m just saying – it’s not simple.
Here’s the why.
Beginners don’t know what feels right yet, take longer to follow cues and may push beyond their limits too soon.
There’s a risk they’ll do something the body is not ready for so they need extra steps early on to get more aware of where their bodies are in time and space.
Some of us are not good at accepting it’s ok NOT to push for the full pose, to find our limit and step back from it. Even if our very skilled teacher reminds us… repeatedly. It takes a while. And that’s ok.
But the problem remains. One of two things will happen when fledgling first timers land in a class of seasoned regulars at a typical ‘All Levels’ class.
Either:
- The beginners (not yet able to park their egos) work too hard and go home feeling over challenged, overwhelmed, confused and feeling ‘no good at yoga.’
OR - The regulars go home bored and under challenged because the class was made more universally accessible for the beginners.
Not good. Someone or other is going to decide yoga is not for them. Arghhhh.
“Look for a class that’s going to be effective and cultivate your interest in the practice.”
Mixed level classes may be welcomingly billed for everybody, but you have to ask how much does it work for every ‘body’.
To have a fun and accessible yoga experience you need to look for a class that’s going to be effective and cultivate your particular interest in the practice – not leave you dissatisfied or inadequate.
Which is why Yoga Local offers a Basic Yoga Training Programme specifically designed to meet the needs of beginners, returners and people with limitations (injury, muscular imbalance, poor posture).
Here’s what you can expect from this lovingly-crafted series of classes:
- Simple and sufficiently challenging poses
- Variation for body types, abilities and reasons for coming
- Break downs of poses step-by-step
- Minimum yoga jargon
- Simple cues
- Clear demos
- Uncomplicated transitions.
It’s not wrong to say yoga is for everybody, it absolutely is. But people are bound to get discouraged when they’re in a class that’s not accessible for their level.
In the Yoga Local Basic Yoga Training Programme terms and cues are used that everyone understands and any yoga talk that is thrown around is explained. You’ll get to start where you are, be challenged in a safe way and move at your own pace.
When you’re in a mixed level class it’s so easy to end up feeling like you’re not getting it but that doesn’t mean you can’t do yoga and you should hang up your mat.
You just need to plant yourself in more fertile soil (the right yoga class) for optimum chance of growth and success.
If you’re interested in challenging that voice that tells you you’re not flexible enough, patient enough, young enough or anything enough to do yoga I invite you to check out the Basic Training Yoga Programme. The next series of 5 classes starts Tuesday October 11. You CAN do it. Set an intention to find the yogi in you.
