It is a common surprise among new students how little focus is placed on deep stretching or even relatively complex postures in most yoga classes. Movement is most easily internalized when it is small, precise and repeatable. By beginning with movements that are seemingly insignificant, your joints, ligaments, balance and other systems are able to accommodate those actions with the least amount of risk. If the initial work is not exhausting, you are more likely to notice changes in your breathing, distribution of weight and muscle recruitment. These are the keys to more complex movements later on.
Another good approach is to consider each pose a window for observation rather than action. Take a basic mountain pose and notice the way your feet connect with the ground, whether your knees are clenched, and how your spine can be stacked on top of the lower body. Hold for a few deep breaths. Let go and do it again. It’s more effective to learn form this way than to try and hold a lot of poses in a short time. Whenever the mind drifts away, you can come back to the sensations such as the warmth spreading down the legs or the space in the chest expanding on an inhale.
A common error is to “force” a posture until they feel a twinge of pain, usually in the hamstrings, hips, or shoulders. Twinges and stings are signs that the body is tightening up, not releasing. When you ease back a little and try to breathe consistently, you usually get a greater stretch because the muscles don’t feel like they need to fight back. The other adjustment has to do with the tempo. Slower transitions between postures will help you stay balanced and will uncover areas where you’re struggling that may be masked by fast transitions.
Frequency is greater than duration, which means fifteen minutes a day is better than a couple of hours every now and then. If you’re a beginner, you might want to start with fifteen minutes a day, and perhaps do it in the evening. You can stand or sit in stillness for two minutes, and then do a few rounds of some basic postures like a forward bend, a low lunge, or a twist. Do the same round every day for a week instead of doing something different each time. The more familiar you are with the postures, the more likely you are to relax into them without trying.
Keeping the bar low on days when you feel stiff and tired means you continue to show up. If all you do is the breathing in the beginning, and a couple of the postures, you’re still keeping the chain unbroken. And this chain helps you establish a baseline level of flexibility, balance, and proprioception. As more challenging postures are added in, you don’t feel overwhelmed by them. Instead, they’re more like a progression of what you already know.