We have finally decided to sit down and talk: yoga. And by “we” I mean “my son and me” because he is the reason I first started with yoga. All I was doing long before pregnancy was trying to look the best way possible (mostly through HIIT workout and pilates). While I still try to look the best way possible for the love of everyone I care about, motherhood opened the doors to somewhere deeper.

Why yoga?

Yes, motherhood lets you shine like you never shined before, but nothing ever shines so brightly when a certain problem appears. First two months of pregnancy, I spent doing HIIT in a gym. My husband cared a lot but since HIIT workout kept my energy up and stress out, he was happy to walk with me all the way to the gym. We were closely getting to the end of our second month of pregnancy when I puked while walking down the street. And it happened twice, so we figured out it’s about time that we leave the gym behind.

Since I was travelling to University (which is not in the city we live) every day and I couldn’t stand to sit down and relax, I decided for yoga. I researched a lot but kept doing slow pilates before I opened the yogi doors. I WAS doing yoga before, but since pregnancy is a fragile theme, I had to take a good look at what’s acceptable and what is not.

This is, actually, a YOGA for BEGINNERS article

Now, this is not a post about pregnant women.

This is a post about beginners (or even before that). But I MUST emphasize that yoga helped me: 1 manage healthy pregnancy; 2 deliver a baby in three hours; 3 come home without a baby belly on myself; 4 recover quickly; 5 pass yoga onto my child (he always wants to be photographed while working out too).

I also need to emphasize the hours of delivering a baby which was three hours for me and how long does it last for the others who do not do yoga. The “early labour” stage usually lasts for 6-12 hours, while the first stage lasts for 4-8 hours. The third stage, when the baby’s actually coming out, may last from few minutes to few hours. And I covered all that in only three hours – all because of yoga. My doctor actually asked me to have I been exercising.

Types of yoga explained

Yoga is not only a physical activity but also a combination of mental and spiritual practices too. The discipline comes from India and basically what you do is sit into postures called asanas. Originally, asana is a meditation pose, but there are many more body poses, such as those we do when practising Hatha.

1 BEGINNER OPTIONS

As a beginner, you should set your focus on Hatha yoga. Hatha is gentle on both your mind and body and it slowly moves you from a beginner to an intermediate yoga student.

Other than Hatha, there’s a Vinyasa Flow too, where your breath takes a good role and you should match it along with movement you’re making. Vinyasa Flow is not recommended at the very beginning but is something you may be interested in continuing once you get familiar with yoga.

2 HEALING YOGA

Anusara yoga flow works on heart opening and is for those people who want to strengthen their health and focus on the emotional part (not for beginners and should consult a doctor).

Founder of Anusara, John Friend, moved onto practising Sridaiva (more of a strength yoga), where knees stay bent during many poses.

People who exercise Forrest want to release their minds from corrupted emotions and body from physical pain while strengthening abdominal muscles and always focusing on deep breathing.

Kripalu is another one that emphasizes meditation but heals physical wounds such as illness or injury and is great for weight loss as well.

3 RELAXATION & MEDITATION FLOWS

Yin yoga prepares the body to sit in long meditation poses and is perfect for taking the busy stress life away.

But, Restorative yoga requires a bit more – to stay in each pose long enough to get the passive stretching through. Both Yin and Restorative yoga is what every beginner should have their eyes on.

4 STRENGTH/LOSE WEIGHT YOGA

Many other flows out there to explore too, such as Ashtanga, where you perform a set of series in the same order and Iyengar yoga, which is for body strength and they usually use blocks or something similar.

Core Power and Bikram yoga are both for those trying to lose weight, but couldn’t properly exercise due to many reasons.

Baptiste Power Vinyasa students exercise in a hot room and sweat a lot.

Another one for exercising in a hot room, Moksha, is based on a series of 45 poses.

Jivamukti is all about inspirational talks after very intense physical workouts.

Where to start TIP NO 1

Anyone would probably suggest you start with any kind of classes for beginners which is totally right on point. Anyhow, starting off with Hatha series for beginners is a better place to go. This will not only professionally prepare you for the next level, but also make you feel less stressed out about all the other confusions.

How often to exercise TIP NO 2

At the very beginning, it is best that you implement 20-30 minutes of gentle Hatha exercise twice a week. Your body will tell you itself when is the time for a change.

What to eat and drink TIP NO 3

Many yogis are well-organized vegans or vegetarians, but you don’t have to choose any of these two diets for yourself. What should matter is that you understand the complexities of nutrient-rich food and water intake.

Go ahead and take my three-weeks meal ideas here.

What to wear TIP NO 4

It’s not a secret that yoga pants will make you feel great in a second! Besides that, you should look for comfortable clothes that let you function properly.