Be one with the world: Yoga for beginners

By Nina C. Zimmermann Nov 18, 2010, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Stress not only gets to the psyche, it often also affects a person physically as well. Tension and discontent are the results. Yoga can help relieve these problems, but beginners should bring along some patience because it takes time to get used to the exercises and feel their full benefit.

The desire to feel contented and relaxed, while at the same time satisfied with one's body, sounds like a wish that could never come true.

But it is becoming more and more common for people to achieve exactly those goals, and the secret to their success is often yoga. It doesn't take the complicated and wrenching poses sometimes found in yoga guidebooks, but it does take a bit of patience.

'Yoga is an exercise that is concerned with the entire human being,' said Angelika Bessler, chairwoman of the association of yoga instructors in Germany. 'It's about learning to lead a satisfying, happy life.'

However, no-one should expect yoga to deliver solutions to all their problems on a silver platter. It's more realistic to think of self-awareness as an important part of yoga. Beginners achieve this through poses called asanas.

'Through the asanas it's possible to come to come to terms with my outer limits. Where is the tension? How can I relieve it?' Bessler said. A further important part of yoga deals with breathing: 'It reflects how I am doing far quicker than the body,' she said. 'Through breathing exercises, which have the goal of making breathing long, light and flowing, the mind can relax and I can more clearly and consciously recognize what is important.'

At some point people become aware that they are chasing certain things for the entire day, said Evelis Grohmann, a yoga instructor from Dusseldorf who works for the German wellness association. And this type of 'head stress' in many cases transfers to the body.

Tension is a typical result. This can be resolved with yoga and perhaps avoided in the future by listening to oneself internally. The exercises are meant to help people get a sense of what's going on inside themselves, said Grohmann. 'And if you want to feel something you must pause for a moment.'

Like Grohmann and Bessler, Anna Troekes advises people new to yoga to attend a course. The exercises done with a group are meant to help develop a feeling for one's own body, said Troekes, an author and yoga instructor from Berlin.

'You can't see so well yourself. An instructor can look exactly at what you are doing and can address any incorrect positions,' said Troekes. Some typical poses that beginners can expect to learn are the downward-facing dog, the shoulder bridge and the cobra. The tadasana or mountain pose is a standing position beginners learn. It is for improving balance and posture.

Before attending a course, Troekes recommends asking what is covered in the session and what is appropriate for beginners. It's also good to say whether you feel a little stiff or are an athletic person who would like to go at it with full power.

'If the class is good, it regenerates rather than exhausts,' said Troekes, adding that she recommends changing to another course if the latter occurs.

Newcomers to yoga should also ask about the background of the instructor. A good one will have done at least 500 instructional units. This is required to obtain a certificate from the association of yoga instructors in Germany and the European Yoga Union. It is also a positive sign when a course is recognized by health insurers and its fee is covered.

'Anyone who expects to be able to do yoga after going to a course 10 times will in fact know yoga only on the surface and will be disappointed,' said Bessler. Yoga is something one learns and develops over a long process that consists of constant repetition. Thus, it's no accident that experts always speak about practicing the poses and the exercises.

'The handling of one's own body is exactly as tedious as learning to play the violin,' said Troekes. 'If the body for years has been symbolically 'lying around' like a violin that never gets played, it has to learn how to be used again.'

She advises people who are taking up yoga not to expect to master the exercises immediately.

A beginner should not overdo it, but rather instead find a good balance between what works and what is useful, said Grohmann. 'The exercises should serve health and one's own powers of self healing.'

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