Yoga Tips for Students

1. Yoga confers benefits to the body, mind and spirit, and these benefits are best realized through a regular personal practice.

2. Maintaining a regular practice is helped if you put aside the same period or periods of time each day. It  is more important than the duration of the practice.

3. Always practice and come to class with an empty stomach. Otherwise, some of the poses can interfere with digestion. Also be sure to attend to personal hygiene prior to class.

4. Listen to your body, and if you feel buring sensations or otherwise injury, stop. Don't wait for the teacher's instructions.

5. Let go of your own ego, and desire to impress the teacher and other pupils in class. Use each class to maximize your learning.

6. Remember that an essence of a yoga practice is the study of self. Avoid observing other students and comparing yourself to them.

7. How deeply you go into a pose doesn't matter as much as how deeply you go within yourself. Use your inner attention.

8. Every good practice should teach you something, and result in a sense of innocence and liberation from daily concerns.

9. In choosing a teacher, find a person who engenders your respect, appears to operate with compassion, has a deep knowlege of the subject,  and with whom you connect.

10. Try to learn the yoga tradition including the yamas, niyamas, and Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras and other seminal writing.

11. Don't limit your practice to your best poses, but work on poses which are difficult as well. Tray to have a well rounded practice.

12. When beginning yoga, there is not substitute for working with a good teacher as a book or video cannot provide you with responsive feedback.

13. Be sure to inform your teacher of any physical problems that may be helped or made worse by doing yoga. Yoga can have great therapeutic effects, and an experienced and well-trained teacher can help pupils realize these benefits for their particular problems.

Do you have a yoga tip for yoga practitioners? Send email to shannon@yoga.com . Thanks!