You may face a few difficulties when first starting out with yoga. This is the norm with anything. Teething problems that will go away with time or by changing your strategies. The first difficulty that most beginners face is the discomfort and pain that may come from practicing yoga. This is to be expected because most of us are not accustomed to the poses that are done in yoga. To make matters worse, some poses require the practitioner to hold the pose.
An example would be the warrior pose. If your thigh muscles are weak, even holding the pose for a minute may have you quivering like a leaf. The muscles are not strong enough to maintain the pose. Rest assured that with time you will get strong enough to do it. The pain and discomfort will go away. Just make sure that you do not push yourself beyond what is considered safe.
Another difficulty would be the cost incurred. Yoga can be expensive if you let it be. Nowadays, yoga is big business due to its popularity. There are tons of yoga equipment from mats to bolsters to DVDs and books. Commercial yoga classes can be expensive and private instructors can be even more costly. This may place a strain on a beginner’s finances.
But the question here is… Do you even need all these?
The answer is probably not. The earliest yoga practiced in India thousands of years ago didn’t require money or fancy equipment. It was very simple and just as beneficial. You will need a yoga mat. You may get one at a relatively inexpensive price. Next up you need a guide. This could be a book or an instructional DVD. If you can’t get a DVD, guess what? You always have YouTube.
You can learn tons just by doing your research online. Learn the finer points and the correct methods. All the information is available if you do your research. You do not need to sign up for classes or get private instructors. This brings us to the next point.
Unqualified instructors. Yes, this is another difficulty many yoga students have without even realizing it. There are many yoga instructors with dodgy certification or who are unprofessional. Currently, there is no requirement for instructors to be certified by a reputable body or school. So, there are instructors with just a basic knowledge of yoga coaching people. This can be dangerous.
Insufficient rest is another difficulty many people have. We live in a fast paced world where a hundred and one things demand our attention. The spouse, the kids, TV, your boss, your friends, your job… It just does not end. In many cases people sacrifice their sleep just to meet all these demands. If you’re starting out with yoga, you will have a new demand to meet.
One way to achieve this is to cut out or limit the unproductive activities. Less time spent in front of the TV, less time wasted going clubbing with friends, etc. You must make sacrifices to do what’s important. Do not let a lack of time make you all stressed out since you can’t do yoga.
Yoga is meant to relax you and not make your stress levels worse. Be happy, be peaceful and be relaxed.