New to yoga

[kateclarke]

I have been doing 30 days of yoga on you tube and am really enjoying it.
Obviously, as a beginner I can't do every pose correctly.
I am trying to summon up the courage to go to a yoga class, what should I do when I can't do the poses? Do my best? Sit and watch?
I know I am over thinking this!!

[cece]

I used to just try my best. A lot of teachers give you alternative poses if you are doing more difficult poses and they realise not everyone will be able to do them.

[LordEmsworth]

If you don't even try the pose, you'll never be able to do it correctly!

I am an Iyengar yoga teacher and we adapt poses, sometimes using props, to allow students to get the shape of the pose so they learn to do it correctly. We spend a lot of time working on poses - breaking them down and learning them bit by bit.

There are lots of styles of yoga and it's important to try a few to see which is right for you - it sounds like you might enjoy Iyengar or a similar style rather than a faster moving one where you go from one pose to the next (but I might be wrong, you might want a flow / power yoga style class). Can you try a few classes to see which one is best for you?

[CoteDAzur]

Just tell the teacher before class starts that you are new to yoga. Nobody will judge you if you can't do a pose. Everybody was a beginner once

[kateclarke]

Thank you everyone. I will pluck up the courage to try a class and see how I get on.

[kateclarke]

I found this old thread of mine while browsing. Thought I would update in case anyone felt like I did.

I started a beginers course in January and it's been fab.

Loads easier than the you tube vids I tried.

Everything has been explained really well and I wasn't the only one who hadn't a clue!