There is always a first time for everything. You might remember your first ski adventure, your first travel abroad, your first seed grew to a healthy microgreen, your first pet, your first love, or your first heartbreak. These experiences inevitable started with a feeling of uncertainty and trepidation. While most ended successfully, there are some who had a little bump in the road. Just like your first heartbreak or your first dead plant, there will always be mistakes to learn a thing or two. Yoga, for that instance, is not an exemption.

 

Yoga has many physical, mental, and spiritual benefits that a lot of people wanted to experience. It is graceful to watch yogi and yoginis perform different postures and forms of yoga. It is convincing to try this practice once you heard amazing stories from people who have enough knowledge and experience about it. But there will be some people who can easily put your interest down, or miss out on this amazing practice just because of misconceptions about yoga, or mistakes committed by yourself – especially for newcomers.  Here are some of the mistakes committed by yoga newcomers:

1.    Trying yoga just because of the hype and not knowing what you really want from it.

Yoga has been around years ago. Behind the physical exercises, there is also sanctity behind it. And aside from sun salutations, there are different types of yoga. Each of them has its own rules and purpose. It is important to determine what you want to learn. It is also important to know what to expect from it. Setting goals and doing your own research will give you an idea on where to enroll and what to prepare. It is important to know all these so that you won’t get lost as your class or your first yoga experience goes on. Remember, yoga is more than just a hype. It is a divine practice with serious and amazing health benefits and purpose.

2.    Jumping without thinking about it first.

This second most common mistake is somehow related to the first but a little higher than the level. You don’t purchase a 12-month class without enough idea about what is going to happen. You don’t dive in just that without doing more research about the class, the yoga studio, the instructor. You don’t have to attend all the classes available and offered to you. That is why there is a drop in class or a yoga beginner class. These classes can give you a comprehensive grasp on the class you’re into, the type of yoga you tried out, and the vibes of it all. In this way, it can save you time, energy, and financial resources. If you enroll in longer classes, there can be instances as a beginner where you will be left behind. It will be harder for you to keep up. While if you join a ‘pay as you go’ type of class, you can have a better understanding of how the pace and the level are important to a newbie in class.

3.    Choosing the wrong instructor.

Learning something from someone who has no proper knowledge about it is a waste of time. Don’t let the chance of acquiring new knowledge slip away. According to tradition, a yogi (yoga teacher) must be a guru’s trainee for many years before transitioning to teaching even the most basic yoga technique. At the present time, there are short courses (as short as three days) available for an individual interested in being a yoga teacher. While a qualified yogi bred by tradition won’t necessarily mean extraordinary, an unqualified teacher won’t necessarily mean awful either. But the gist is this, accidents from yoga have been reportedly considered as a sports injury. One of the main reasons why injuries like those happen is because of instructors not knowledgeable enough. It is with utmost importance that you get to know your teacher – his/her background, yoga teaching experiences, and the likes.

Mistakes happen from time to time. But it is great to be reminded that you can avoid these things to happen again. Learn from your own experiences and apply every solution possible. Yoga is a beautiful way of healing yourself, and may you don’t get discouraged to pursue this more just because of a mistake.

Author Bio:

“Emily Lopes is a young yoga student, travel addict and content writer for Retreat Hub. In her free time, she enjoys reading books, but also loves to visit different travel destinations whenever there is a space for it.”