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Suggestions for a newbie?
Hey I'm a yoga newbie and I am wanting to get into it as it would be beneficial to my health. I have fibromyalgia so my muscles and joints are totally out of whack and I am often in serious pain. My rheumatologist suggested yoga to build strength and muscle tone and said if I developed core strength it may also help with my back pain (scoliosis related). So basically I'm a mess and I need help getting started because it seems overwhelming!
I have a bit of space but no equipment so do I need anything fancy?
Should I watch any videos or read any books? Suggestions? In particular beginner stuff is of interest I am super jealous of the folks who can do handstands but that's not where I am yet so trying to navigate that is becoming frustrating...
Any other tips for beginners or stories of your own practice?
Thanks in advance!




Check out Fightmaster yoga on YouTube! When a friend suggested I thought is a ninja teaching yoga? Nope her name is Lesley Fightmaster and she has tons of videos all levels. Check it out! Namaste!!
Hey !
I truly recommend you to try "Yoga with adriene". She has a strong and lovely community, and even a newsletter which is nice to read :) She made video for begginers, and also videos for specific issues (and one called "yoga for your back" ;) )
I think it my correspond to you because she always tells to "Find What Feels Good" and not looking for the perfect pose, but for a place where you can grow your mind and create strengh with no pain or struggle.
As I am a begginer and cannot afford "physical lessons", it really helped me to discover yoga and start without risking doing thinks wrong (let's be honest : doing yoga withoud having any piece of advice may be risky :/ )
Do not spent to much in equipments : clothes you feel good in, a yoga mat, and take your pillows and blanket. That will be enought to get through your first experiences. A block is nice too. I only have bought a yoga mat for the first 3 month and just bought a bloc, never felt I needed anything else. :)
Also, I can only recomment you to try not to do 1h of yoga per week but more 10 mins per day. Especially if you want to put yoga in your daily routine (which is great for your mind, also :) )
Namaste !
I started practising yoga with 'Yoga with Adriane' a short while ago. I second this recommendation! It was recommended to me and really like practising with it.
I found choosing the right videos for complete beginners a little confusing at first because I looked for one playlist to do in full and Tell Me How To Yoga but didn't really see one. Ended up choosing different videos every day depending on how much energy I have. I use the search box frequently. I really like the gentle 'morning' and 'bedtime' practise videos, I come back to them often. And I'm slowly working through the 'Yoga Foundations' playlist which has a video on each pose. And I search for videos on specific issues as they come up (wrist pain for example).
I also agree with choosing to do a small practice session every day instead of a bigger one once a week. I commit more to things I do every day. And, frankly, I cannot yet find the energy to survive an hour-long session - but so far I'm managing 10-20 minute sessions daily.
I bought no equipment so far and I can't really see myself buying anything anytime soon - a blanket on the floor and a book for a block were all I needed to practise.
It helps to have a yoga mat, especially to protect your knees, but you can always use a patch of carpet, etc. That's about it. Blocks and straps can be fun, but not necessary.
There are TONS of great channels on YouTube, maybe search for 'sun salutations' to start out? Bad Yogi has some free yoga videos, too.
I think there's some debate as to whether or not handstands are genuine to yoga--I can't do one either, but I"m considered a pretty intermediate practitioner. It's brought me strength, peace of mind, and love for my body: it is literally the best hobby I have ever started!
I suggest to visit a beginner class. There, you will be carefully guided and the teacher is alaways there to give advice. For many of the postures, there are also alternatives if you have health issues or preparatory exercises.
Based on what you know, you can then check out some videos to additionally practise at home. You will just need a Yoga mat to start. In Yoga studios, however, they mostly have mats so you do not need to bring your own.
One other advice is: One step at a time (and this is coming from a very ambitious person :-p). You will make gradual progress over time.