Top 10 Tips For Beginners
Hot Yoga Newbie? No Sweat! Here’s How to Crush Your First Class.
Beginner Tips for Feeling Strong, Relaxed, and Accomplished Right from the Start.
Teaching Original Hot Yoga for the last 20+ years, Jenny and I have worked with and observed many new yoga students.
Some finish class feeling empowered, positive, and accomplished.
Others finish class feeling discouraged, down, and self-defeated.
What is it that tips the scales one way or another?
As a yoga teacher and life coach, I’m very interested in the mindset behind what sets someone up for success. I believe success starts before you ever step foot on your mat. So I’ve put together my top ten tips that will immediately and practically benefit your life and your next class, no matter where you are in your practice.
Thrive Hot Yoga’s Top 10 Tips For A Successful Practice
Permission to Be A Beginner.
Who gives you that permission? Only you can. Let yourself be a beginner. It’s ok to lose your balance and be clumsy. As instructor Gavin says in our recent Staff Profile: “It's like any new thing; there's always a sense of clumsiness and foolishness and awkwardness when you do something new. I think there's something really good about that—that willingness to put yourself right in that spot”.
Stay Hydrated.
Hydrate more than usual during the 24 hours before class. Research shows that 70% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. You will feel much better during and after a hot yoga class if you are properly hydrated.
Show Up As You.
Don’t expect your postures to look like those around you; some people have been practicing for years. You don’t have to compare yourself to others. However you are today is the perfect way to show up.
Pace Yourself.
“Some finish class feeling empowered, positive, and accomplished. Others finish class feeling discouraged, down, and self-defeated. What is it that tips the scales one way or another? ”
Pace yourself the best you can for the whole class. It’s not a sprint or competition. And leave your ego at the door, there is no one to impress. We see big, strong, muscle men come through sometimes, and they give it 110% for the first 20 minutes, and then it’s game over for them.
I Think I Can.
Have a positive attitude towards yourself and your ability to prevail. ‘I Think I Can’ is an archetypal and powerful mindset for hot yoga—and anything you confront in life. Yes, it’s from “The Little Engine That Could” book that many of us were introduced to as children. As a parent, I now realize that book is just as much for adults as it is for kids.
Listen To Your Body.
Yes, this sometimes means you need to rest, stop and watch, sit down, or lie down, depending on the part of class. Anytime you feel you need to rest as a beginner, it’s ok to rest! Over time your body will let you know when you are ready to do more.
Give it A Chance.
What does this mean for Original Hot Yoga? It means as a beginner, doing 5 classes in a month or less to give it an honest fair chance. For most people, doing one class only (as a beginner) simply does not give enough data to comprehend how your life can be positivity impacted. We have a 5 class trial pass for a reason. After 5 classes, you will feel more comfortable in the hot room and will notice a real difference in how you feel outside the yoga room.
Save Your Judgment.
Don’t judge yoga by how you feel in the hot room. Judge it by how you feel in your life outside of class.
Be Patient.
Be patient with yourself. You have years, maybe decades, of patterns that brought your body and mind to the exact condition it is today. Yoga helps to unravel stress and injuries and imbalances. That doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time, and that’s ok.
Embrace Persistence.
Persistence is a magic word. Do not give up if you do feel discouraged. Patience and persistent go hand in hand to help create extraordinary results and improvements over time.
Some of these points may jump out at you more than others. Put these tips into practice and take them to heart—because as simple as they may sound—years of experience have gone into these insights.
And sometimes, even with the best preparation, you can still have a tough day or class. Even that is ok! Every time you come into the studio, your body is different, depending on how much sleep you had, how much stress you are under, what you had to eat in the last 24 hours, etc. All these factors can play a big part of your experience.
When you approach your yoga practice over time with patience and persistence—even (especially!) when your experience with class is up or down—having a successful mindset will pay off in huge and unexpected ways.
How will you show up for your next class? Book it now and find out. And for more helpful tips like these, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
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