What should beginners of yoga practice?

Yoga is a sport that combines the body and mind. If you only focus on whether your movements are standard, but do not pay attention to the spiritual benefits of practicing yoga, then it proves that you have not practiced yoga well. As yoga is so popular nowadays, there must be many beginners who want to learn yoga. So, what should beginners of yoga practice? What should beginners pay attention to when learning yoga?

From the perspective of physical exercise, it is best to practice every day. If you are busy with work, you should practice at least twice a week, each time lasting between 1 to 2 hours, to ensure the effectiveness of the practice. If you practice at home, it should be at least 30 minutes to see obvious results. If you don’t have enough time, you can practice pranayama or meditation for ten minutes.

You should wear loose, sweat-absorbent, breathable cotton or linen clothing, and the top should fit well so that you can complete some inversion movements. It is best if the pants have drawstrings, not elastic. The pure cotton and lycra clothes which are popular nowadays are also a good choice.

You don't need to wear shoes to practice yoga, you can do it barefoot. On the one hand, going barefoot can relax your legs, enhance the sensitivity of your feet, and massage and squeeze the acupuncture points on the soles of your feet; on the other hand, the friction between the soles of your feet and the ground makes it easier to complete yoga postures, especially balance exercises. Of course, if the weather is colder, you can also practice with socks on.

The best time to practice yoga is early in the morning or before breakfast, followed by late afternoon or 3-4 hours after a meal. It can also be done at other times, but it must be done on an empty stomach or after complete digestion (food). As for meditation, you can choose to practice it late at night or around 4 a.m. If you don’t have a period of time to concentrate on practicing, you can also divide the practice into several or even more than ten sections. You can practice one or two yoga poses or do breathing and meditation in 5 minutes. This way, a day is equivalent to taking a yoga class.

Many postures during practice will squeeze the stomach and intestines, which may cause dizziness, nausea, and even vomiting if you have eaten. Moreover, when exercising, the body's blood is concentrated in local muscles or organs, which will affect the digestion and absorption of food and increase the burden on the heart. If you feel hungry, you can eat a small amount of easily digestible food 1 to 2 hours before practice, which can relieve the feeling of hunger during practice.

Taking a bath will make it easier to practice yoga poses. After practicing yoga poses, your body will feel sticky due to sweating, so it is best to take a shower after 15 minutes. Bathing before or after practicing yoga poses can invigorate both the mind and the body.

It is recommended that beginners do not rush into yoga practice and do not be too tempted by the difficult moves that others are practicing. When practicing yoga, you must start from the basics, step by step, so that you can become a yoga master. When beginners practice yoga, they must start with simple movements.