Everyone understands that yoga has amazing benefits for your body, but just like anything that is new, it can be really intimidating to start.  How do you know which practice is right for you?  What are all these strange words that describe the poses?  Whether you want to start at home, a retreat, or a local studio, we have some great tips for you to take away the fear and make sure that you can relax and enjoy your first steps into yoga!

Where to start?  Yoga is unique in that it can be practiced practically anywhere!  For beginners, it may be helpful to start at a retreat or at a studio so you have an instructor that can assist your body position and guide.  You will also need to get a yoga mat which are readily available and can be inexpensive.  As far as other props, they will be available at a studio or retreat and the instructors can guide you through their use.  Wait on purchasing additional items until you have determined what practice you want to pursue.

You might be overwhelmed with the choice of practices, because you started out just wanting to do yoga.  Start out with a Vinyasa class and once you feel comfortable, branch out from there.  Another great way to determine what practice you will enjoy and provides the best benefit, is to attend a retreat.  With the Yoga in Margaritaville retreat for example, you get to experience five different practices with the beautiful Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort as your backdrop.  Retreats often allow you the opportunity to learn more about overall wellness techniques and ways that you can generally better your health and wellness.  After the retreat, you can go back home and start the practice of your choice at home or at a local studio.

Here are a few of the yoga practices featured at the Yoga in Margaritaville retreat:

Yoga Nidra:  Think of yoga nidra as deep relaxation.  The goal is to achieve the deepest state of relaxation while still remaining conscious.  Additionally, this practice has been found to reduce tension and anxiety.

Power Yoga:  Power yoga moves very quickly and you are not typically holding a pose very long, unlike in other practices of yoga.  This is a more intensive form of yoga and focuses on strength building.  You will definitely get a workout in this class!

Gentle Flow:  This practice is great for beginners!  You are guided through basic poses (Vinyasa style) and then the class may get gradually more challenging, based on the levels of students.  Props are typically used in these classes to allow the student to achieve poses comfortably.

Vinyasa:  In this practice, students will learn how to coordinate moving from one pose to another flowing with their breath.  Several different styles of yoga fall under Vinyasa, so its more of a wide-reaching term, but they all have the same style of using breaths to flow between poses.  “Vinyasa” is also the term that is used to describe a specific collection of poses that are used in a vinyasa yoga class.

Enjoy the relaxation and positive changes that yoga can bring to your body and mind… Namaste!