Hatha Yoga. Practice. Tips for beginners. 🙂

Whatever level your body and mind are, try not to rush in practice.

If the pose or movement is uncomfortable to you, then thinking about something other than this is difficult.

For example, sitting with crossed legs, we think only of pain in the tense legs, especially in the knees, and the spine.

No asana (pose) at this moment does not happen, you are simply not ready for it. This is physical education, nothing more.

It is better to start with something simpler.

This is the basis of yoga practice. Yes, I think of any other practices.

Try to practice asanas (poses) in ascending order. Then you will gradually work the whole body, achieving relaxation, attention and concentration.

Try to accept yourself as you are.

If you have not stretched the back surface of the legs, problems with the back and hip joints, then you must admit it.

Or, you are too flexible, but pay little attention to breathing.

Or, breathing is fine, but it’s impossible to sit for a long time with a straight back.

It happens that in asana we feel comfortable, but the mental stream in your head filled you. This is also not the fulfillment of asana.

The way of breathing is very important in performing asana.

Breath expresses our inner feelings. If we experience pain and inconvenience, it affects our breathing. If we are upset or nervous, then we stop controlling our breathing. Breathing is the connection of the inner body with the external.

Doing asana is real when we reach the harmony of body, breath and mind.

Natural breathing when leaning forward, can be seen in the example of Uttanasana, Adho Mukha Shvanasana and Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana.

One of the first requirements in the practice of yoga is to consciously combine breathing and body.

COMPENSATION IN THE PRACTICE ASAN. 

In yogic practice, I want to fulfill the asanas, to realize a state of peace, mindfulness, comfort, relaxation and ease.

For this to happen, you need to intelligently rebuild the practice, structure it.

While engaging in asanas, it is necessary to have a starting point, the condition of which is – this is not only a gradual advancement to the goal.

It is also the ability to return to a state in which you can safely continue your daily life without feeling any negative consequences from training.

If you are doing a headstand, you should be able to return to normal without problems.

It is important to compensate for the headstand with the opposite pose, for example, the shoulder-strap (Sarvangasana) to relieve the neck.

For any asana you can choose several compensating positions of the body. It all depends on where the excess voltage is created.

When the tension in some part of the body is felt after the asana, you should try to take it off with a compensating posture – the simplest asana, which reduces tension in this area.

The pose opposite to the strong inclination forward is a slight deflection or tilt back.

Conversely, after a strong backward deflection, a slight inclination should be made forward.

When opening the hip joints outwards, compensate for their opening of the hip joints inside.

When stretching the front surface of the body, do not forget about the back.

Compensating postures are necessary in order to return the body to a normal state and make sure that the tension is not transferred to the next posture or to ordinary life.

Asanas should be dealt with not arbitrarily, but in accordance with certain principles: 

• Start from the level where you are;

• Warm up and relax the whole body before starting the exercise;

• Before starting to perform asanas, make sure that you know and can perform a compensating asana;

• before static execution of the asana make it dynamically;

• after the main asana immediately make a compensatory;

• compensating asana should be simpler than the main one.

Do not forget that your own practice should be carefully thought out and planned taking into account your unique bodily constitution and your personal goals.

Asanas can be performed in two ways. Dynamic when we enter the asanas several times and exit it in a certain rhythm of breathing.

Static when we enter the asana and leave it as in a dynamic version, but instead of constantly moving with the breath, we hold the pose for several breaths. At the same time, we concentrate on breathing, certain areas of the body or both (this depends on the purposes for which you are performing this asana). The dynamic method allows the body to gradually get used to the position. Therefore, it is always better to start with a dynamic version, and only then try to keep the pose.

There are other advantages of dynamics. For example, there are many poses, to stay in which a long time for beginners is very difficult. And this way of doing exercises gives you more opportunities to breathe to certain parts of the body and strengthen the effect of the exercises.

Thus, dynamic practice helps prepare for difficult static situations and makes the performance of one or another asana more intense, giving it a special focus. Therefore, dynamic versions of asanas are an essential part of every yoga activity, whether you are a beginner or a more experienced practitioner. For example, “Surya Namaskar.”