Guest Articles >> Yoga (Last updated Jun. 06, 2017)

The Biggest Yoga Mistakes That Beginners Make

The ancient practice of yoga is not only soothing and relaxing; it also brings a huge range of health benefits. It will improve your strength, flexibility, posture, circulation as well as improve your immune health, concentration and reduce your stress. Yoga is something that anyone can do, no matter how young or old you are or what physical limitations you might have.

When you first start practicing yoga there can be a very steep learning curve as you work to understand how this exercise works. Sometimes as beginners are learning about yoga they can make some mistakes that become roadblocks to their progress. Here are some of the most common mistakes that yoga beginners make and how you can get around them:

Starting Without Proper Guidance

Some of the yoga postures that you will end up doing are quite difficult and can cause injury if done incorrectly. If you simply start practicing yoga by yourself and attempt to contort yourself into the positions that you see in a magazine or in a photograph, you could seriously hurt yourself. You will also not be aware of the proper meditation and breathing techniques which go along with each posture.

When you are first starting out, the best thing is to take a class from a qualified instructor who can make sure that you are practicing properly. Once you are aware of the technique you will be able to practice on your own at home.

Trying To Push Yourself Too Far

When you take your first yoga class you will see people of all different experience levels in the class practicing alongside you. Some of your other classmates will have been practicing yoga for longer than you and will be able to stretch very deeply into the poses, such as touching their forehead to their knees during a forward bend. You might be tempted to push and strain in order to bend as far as these experienced classmates, but be careful as this is a recipe for injury and muscle strain!

It is important to remember that when you practice yoga comparing yourself to others does not matter. It is not about who can stretch the furthest, but about how you can improve on your own practice. Don’t be worried if you can’t reach all the way into a yoga pose at first, just bend as far as you comfortably can and enjoy the stretch. Be patient with your body and focus on your own practice without measuring yourself against others.

Forgetting to Breathe

It is absolutely essential to remember that breathing is one of the most important aspects of a yoga practice. It helps to focus your mind, calm down your body and encourage energy to flow freely through your muscles.

However, many beginners are tempted to hold their breath as they stretch themselves into a complicated pose. This will stunt your practice for many reasons. You will not have enough energy to complete the pose properly, you will find yourself getting dizzy and tired easily and you will not benefit from the deep breathing relaxation that yoga can bring.

Pay attention to your breath during your yoga practice and if you find yourself holding it in, remember to breathe! Sometimes it helps to count out your breathing in your head until it becomes natural to breathe as you are moving through the postures. If you are not sure exactly how to time your breathing with a particular pose you can always ask your instructor for pointers.

These are just a few of the most common mistakes that beginners make when they practice yoga for the first time. If you can keep these tips in mind as you begin your yoga practice, you will be well on your way to mastering this relaxing, strengthening and empowering form of exercise!

About the Author

There are a few common mistakes that people often make when trying yoga for the first time. Here are some tips for practicing correctly from Manukalife Yoga.

Disclaimer:

The above guest post is published based on the premise that it will be helpful and informative. The opinions made within it are those of the author and not of sunnyray.org. The links you may find within this post do not necessarily imply our recommendation or endorsement of the views expressed within them.

Comments:

Deborah says:
01-17-2014

I remember when I was starting my yoga classes, I thought I will be able to master yoga very fast. That's a typical beginners mistake. I had no idea how deep and complex yoga is. It takes time, a lot of time to perfect yourself and learn what yoga really is.

Pam says:
04-24-2014

Some of the typical mistakes beginners make during their yoga classes are sitting with your rounded back, sitting on the sacrum and dropping your head out of line with your spine. Many people do these mistakes because they are used to having less flexible arms, legs and hips which makes it very difficult to maintain a good posture during the exercise. Ask your yoga teacher to correct your postures for these or any other typical mistakes. Otherwise you won't be able to get the full yoga's benefits. The proper alignment will help you achieve more peaceful mind, happier mood and great flexible body.

silvia says:
07-11-2014

If I go just several days without doing yoga, I already feel tired, irritable and achy. Taking regular classes is great for me to maintain my strength, flexibility and endurance. What I found to be one of the huge mistakes in my case is not paying enough attention to consciously perform the yoga asanas. Remember, every move should be conscious, as opposed to just automatically following your instructor's moves.

Diana says:
06-06-2017

I am a Yoga teacher and one very common mistake I encounter with my students is people have problems in the Bridge Pose to make a full expression of it. While they all love it, some have problems with it and those who struggle are students with really tight chest and hip flexors. What I find useful for them is concentrating more on yoga poses that help correct the hip and chest situation. Here is a useful post I found about some other common mistakes: common-mistakes-in-yoga-poses

sunnyray says:
06-06-2017

Hi Diana, and thanks for sharing. What are the yoga postures good for the hips and chest area?

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