If you are new to the sub or new to yoga, WELCOME! There is an immense amount of information available in this sub, and an excellent community of people.
If you're here for the challenges, the list is in the stickied comment, here. :) Enjoy!
If you're brand-spanking-new, please take a few minutes to read through the Getting Started section.
If you have a question, PLEASE check out the FAQ and try search before creating a new post. As noted in rule 2, commonly asked questions are removed and directed to the above - especially at the start of the year when the same question is often posted multiple times a week or even a day.
The Basics
Styles - there's a nice rundown of the various styles in the FAQ - here's a direct link.
... but where do I START?
If you've never done yoga EVER and are going to start with a studio class and you're terrified, a restorative class is a good introduction to a studio and the various props. From there, as mentioned in the Getting Started section, hatha is a solid choice. Pick up the basics, and everything else is easier to learn.
Mats
Try search for sure, but of course there's a list of topics in the FAQ. The first link in the section is the Dec 2018 megathread for mats.
III.41 srotrakasayoh sambandha-samyamad divyam srotam
srotra: ear, organ of hearing; akasayoh: ether; sambandha: relationship; samyamat: by samayama; divyam: divine; srotam: hearing
By samyama on the relationship between the organ of hearing and the ether, divine hearing is attained. [Bryant Translation]
I’m going to include some of the commentary:
“Ether, akasa, in Sankhya thought, is the substratum of sound- sound vibrations require a medium in which to vibrate, and, by a process of elimination, the commentators argue that this substratum must be ether. In fact, ether is itself generated from the tammatra, or subtle element, of sound, so sound is both inherent in ether and conveyed through it. Ether is therefore considered to be present in the ear, such that it can pick up the vibrations of sound. Patanjali here states that by samyama on the relationship between ether and the ear, the yogi is able to surpass the limitations of the physical ear and access divine sounds, divyam srotam.
In conventional hearing, saying Bhoja Raja, hearing catches only the sounds that vibrate within the pocket of ether enclosed by the ear; however, since ether is all-pervading, and so potentially is the sattvic citta, the accomplished yogi’s citta is believed to be able to transcend identification with the body and expand out to access sound beyond the realm of normal hearing vibrating anywhere in the ether (citta, being subtler than ether, can pervade it).”
Questions for this week: Have any of you had any experiences with increased sense abilities related to your yoga practice? This could range from experiencing supernormal sense abilities, to feeling a general sense of expanded awareness of sound, touch, taste, etc…
I’m a M24, always wanted to do yoga. I’ve always been super anxious. I’m an ex athlete and I’ve always adjusted to group classes well, but there’s always been this vulnerability and complete newness to yoga that I’m afraid of.
Anyway, I signed up for a 30 days for $40 trial at a studio. It took everything in me to press sign up - stared at my screen for 40 minutes. But, in short, my first class is on Thursday. I booked it through the end date for accountability and have about 14-17 classes registered. Too much? Not enough?
I’d love to do 30 but I’m an unlimited member at Orangetheory as well. So I wasn’t sure if I can do both in a day or what, but I thought I mapped it out decently enough. I’m still new-ish to fitness. Began fully in September.
I guess the crux of all this is I’m so nervous, I don’t know the names of poses, I don’t know the “what to do.” And being possibly the only guy intimidates me. I don’t want to be looked at like the one dude there or something. And I particularly enjoy being in the back of classes, kind of reserved by nature and don’t love to be in many’s line of vision.
Anyways, I’m ridiculously nervous. Could someone help address some of my worries? They are mostly sculpt classes, power and vinyasa. Not sure if I’ll be able to do much - not flexible. And again I just don’t know anything about it. But I’ve always been drawn to it and want to make it regular.
Lastly, not sure what to wear either. I think I need some yoga apparel. All I own are running shorts which don’t give me tons of room to move and cotton tee shirts. The rooms are all heated (another concern) so does anyone have recommendations? I want to run to a target or dicks or something in the next day or so to get stuff I can flow in.
Sorry this is all a lot but I’m beyond terrified and any help would be huge . Wanted this for a long time
I’ve been practicing over a year and a half now and I truthfully have not been very unswaying in going to practice almost every day (if not every other with gym visits). I just got the flu and was down for about a week and I want to get back into it now that I haven’t practiced for about a week and a half. Does anyone have any experience after losing a lot of “sick weight” and regaining your strength? Any tips are welcome I’m just very weak and surely don’t want to mess up my health of my body. (I mostly do hot vinyasa!)
Community Details
Welcome
Welcome to /r/yoga! Reddit's best place for all things yoga.
Yoga can be:
- A way to stay fit
- Relaxation, stress reduction
- Just fun
- Preparation for meditation
- Spiritual or religious practice
- or whatever else you need it to be
The Wiki and FAQ
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r/yoga Rules
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Before posting, PLEASE use search and read the FAQ. Many people have posted basic questions before. Please check the FAQ before posting another 'what-should-I-wear?' type post. The article you're excited to share may have been posted yesterday. Common questions and link reposts may be removed. We will try to let you know why if we remove a post, but it may not always happen. If we don't and you want to know, just ask.
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If we have to explain...
Asking for or sharing content- be it video, audio, or print- that is available for purchase, in particular by the content creator.
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