How To Get Flexible With Yoga In 4 Simple Steps

insider yoga staff | August 1, 2016 | Flexibility | No Comments

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These Steps Will Get You Off To A Fast Start!

So you’ve decided that you want to give yoga a try? Congratulations! Whether you are trying yoga to increase flexibility or heal annoying aches and pains, you’ve made a great decision! One thing to keep in mind when you are getting started with yoga: There is no instant flexibility elixir or pose that will make you instantly more flexible. It takes practice and patience but if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with greater flexibility in the long run.

The following article provides some tips and tricks you can use to hit the ground running when starting yoga. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t compare your flexibility with that of others as everyone’s body is different. The best way to see how you’re doing is to track your own progress from the beginning.

See the article below and be sure to pass this along to any of your friends or family looking to improve their flexibility!

1. Find out what yoga poses and stretches are best for what you want to accomplish.

There are so many different places that you can increase your flexibility, and so many different yoga poses and stretches to get you there. That being said, there are some poses that will help get you there faster and are more worth your time than others.

We will include some of the basic ones below:

Hamstrings: Forward Bend, Head-to-Knee Forward Bend, Half Splits

Hips: Pigeon Pose, Crescent Lunge

Back: Cobra Pose, Upward Facing Dog, Camel Pose, Bow Pose

Chest and Shoulders: Puppy Pose

2. Let the TV be your accountability partner.

Yogis everywhere may cringe at those words, because yoga is supposed to be all about quiet time, meditation, etc. Well yes, that is true… But I have to say, when you are working long and hard on your flexibility and repeating the same or similar stretches every single day, it can sure get BORING sometimes…

I find that it helps me to watch an hour-long episode while I stretch. It’s a good break from work, and it helps to keep me accountable to workout the full hour that the show is on.

Just make sure that you are still concentrating and focusing enough on the poses and your body. It should not be something that is so engaging or distracting that you can’t focus on your body and your goals.

3. Use props.

Another invaluable tool I used was a yoga strap. It helps you access hard to reach places and keeps your body properly aligned until you can get the flexibility to get there without it.

Another great tool is a yoga block. This one can also helps to ensure that your body is properly aligned and your form is correct until you have the flexibility to reach the ground. It’s also great to use for stretching.

They are both easy tools to that can make a huge difference in the beginning of your practice!

4. Take progress photos.

I can’t stress this point enough. Please don’t read over it and discount it immediately. It has been THE most invaluable tool along my flexibility journey.

Photos serve as hard evidence that you ARE making progress. Flexibility can feel like slow work, and it can be very frustrating at times. It can be enough to make you want to quit, because you feel like you are getting nowhere.

I felt like that during my splits journey. Alex forced me to take a progress photo once, and I was blown away by how close I was! It didn’t feel like it at all. The problem was that I just couldn’t SEE it myself. This also helped to motivate me to work even harder!

Try taking photos every 2 weeks or so to see how quickly you are progressing. You can keep them on your phone or post them to Instagram (which is the best option, because you can compare your photos much easier, and they won’t get lost in your phone library).