When I first started yoga I typed beginner yoga in on YouTube and honestly the classes that came up seemed really advanced for me. Not just physically but I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about (what an earth is a Dristi anyway?). If you relate. Keep reading.
The main way to tell if you are a beginner at yoga is if you haven’t ever done it or haven’t been doing it long, like less than 2 years.
If you have read my other blog posts you will know that the physical part of yoga is only 1 part. So to say you are advanced in yoga, what does that really mean? Is that just advance postures or does that mean you are one with nature and the universe? There are no stages of yoga because we are all constantly learning about ourselves and others. However…
When you are looking for a class to follow online it is great to define it so that you can get what you are looking for. Unfortunately anyone can post things on the internet. Meaning if you type in beginner yoga you will get a lot of different variations. If someone is physically really fit then there beginner class is going to look different to someone who has never exercised before.
If you have searched beginner yoga before and things have seemed to advanced then a great thing you can do is type in gentle, slow, back to basics, first ever yoga class, yoga newbie. Adding words like this in will give you different results and find a more suitable class.
If you are looking for in person classes, then most in person classes will be pretty gentle and explained. It’s usually just the online world that jumps ahead a bit because of the fact anyone can post.
Also finding a teacher that fits with you. Every single yoga teacher will teach differently. If you are more into the spiritual side, then find a yoga teacher who focuses on that. If you want to learn how to get into the poses correctly and gain flexibility then follow me (hint hint) ‘Lakora Yoga’ on youtube.
So if you have been practicing for less than 2 years, you don’t feel that flexible, you are unsure on the terms of yoga then I would stick to a beginners class until you feel comfortable and want to push a little more physically. You learn the terms as you go, the more you hear them, the more they stick.
This is just my personal thoughts on the physical side of yoga but I would rate them as the following:
Beginner
new to yoga, slower, more instructions, taking things step by step, learning to quiet the mind
Intermediate
faster, less instructions and more flowing, understanding of yogic terms, can do stronger poses like crow and plank easy and feel more flexible.
Advanced
Have a deep understanding of yoga, can do most poses even harder arm balances, can quite and calm the mind, have a positive outlook on life.
Please bare in mind here that this is just what to search for online, if you have been doing yoga for 10 years but still cant do crow pose and feel inflexible this doesn’t mean you are still a beginner. I am simply trying to help you find the right online class. (I am a yoga teacher and I did an intermediate class from a teacher on youtube this morning and I felt extremely weak and had to keep stopping as it was too advanced for my body)
So if you think you are a beginner yogi and love the sound of starting from the basics and taking it slow then take a look at my Spotify yoga classes. We are starting right at the beginning and taking it back to basics. As always listen to your body and adjust when needed and I hope you enjoy. Click the link below to practice for free
ps. These classes will also be available on youtube soon, if you don’t have spotify, go and follow me there CLICK HERE TO GO TO YOUTUBE of search Lakora Yoga now.