With the myriad of benefits that yoga brings like reducing blood pressure and anxiety, strengthening and adding flexibility to your body, increasing bone density etc. there is hardly any reason why yoga shouldn’t be considered.

The awareness is growing fast and so is people’s interest in this ancient form of exercise of mind, body and soul. Moreover, the magnificent ‘asanas’ that the yoga schools display in their hoardings, look so appealing. Everybody just seems to want to achieve that kind of flexibility.

When people look at these hoardings, they imagine themselves in that kind of asana and that serves as the biggest trigger for them to join Yoga.

Achieving Asanas – Is That All Yoga is About?

While the super-flexible asanas seem to be the most attractive part of Yoga, there is much more to it. Yoga is a spiritual journey of mind, body and soul. And if you joined a Yoga studio hoping to master the asana, you need to adjust your expectations.

First off – you are certainly not going to conquer an asana on the very first day. What you need to understand is that, you shouldn’t be hurrying – it takes time. If you are in a rush, you will miss the essence of it and won’t be able to reap all the benefits of Yoga.

Everything takes time and Yoga is no different. Even growing into yoga will need proper conditioning – you need to relax and let yoga do its work on you. You need to listen, explore and harness the energy within you.

Yoga was not built in a day

The ancient saints who created these yogasanas did so by observing animals and other creatures of nature for days together. Hence, several asanas are named after animals. It’s obvious here that it didn’t come to them naturally but by continued observation and perseverance.

Not even marathon runners started ‘marathoning’ their way to glory on their first day. In fact, when you join a yoga class, your yoga teacher will tell you that it doesn’t matter if you can’t touch your toes. And they mean it. 

Learn to relax and take it slow!

The reason why several yoga classes are conducted in a calm environment fragranced by incenses or in the open is that, relaxing is the foundation of yoga. Breathe and meditate – these are very important elements of yoga and will help you relax.

Even if you are taking a 200 hour yoga teacher training, they will tell you that instead of doing things randomly you will need a creative safe sequence. A yoga teacher training will not only deepen your practice, but help you to share it with others.

As important as it is to take it slow and not rush to conquer an asana, it is important you follow this rule during transitioning as well. Transitioning between poses is one of the most common times to get injured. If you rush, you get distracted and you miss out on the real benefits of yoga.

Your focus should be on the journey of getting into a pose rather than just winding up there. Take it slow and pay attention; be more present and that is how you reap the true benefits of Yoga.