Developing a personal yoga routine..

Octavia · 02-09-2010, 01:50 AM

Hi there, I'm very, very new to yoga but the more I read about it the more I fall in love with it. From the physical to the spiritual this seems like a path certainly worth considering. Despite my interest about all aspects of yoga I figured it would be best to start off with poses while I continue to study the lifestyle, spiritual aspects, ect.
I've gotten myself stuck on developing my own routine though.
There are many basic poses in yoga accessible to beginners. Each of these poses can be categorized into standing, sitting, supine, and prone poses and then further categorized by what areas of the body they are meant to help.
My question(s) is(are) this; when developing my own routine is it best to do the same poses daily throughout the week or should I mix it up every day? And if I do a different routine for each day of the week (which is what I was planning on) would it be better to a variety of poses that help a variety of areas each day or should I focus on one area one day and another the next?
I apologize if I'm confusing. Thank you for your time and help.

prasad · 02-09-2010, 03:13 AM

hi,
I think its would be a good practice to start with surya namaskar, there are these 6 poses repeated twice, which is all one needs to do for a healthy living, remember this has to be done even number of times say 6, 8 10 or 12 times, depending upon how much time you have you may increase.

InnerAthlete · 02-09-2010, 12:08 PM

Hello Octavia,

The physical practice one does should result in a balanced body and life for the person doing it. Ergo the answer to much of your question really depends on you. If you spend much of your current living bent over you may want to focus more on backbends and less on forward bends - though each has effect on the body and each has value.

But this is merely an example. As you get to know yourself better, crafting an asana practice will be easier. And this is where a teacher would be appropriate. A benefit of having a teacher is to have an trained view of you from external to internal (assessment). Consider learning sequences from class attendance with a well trained teacher.

I'd like to add that there are some 17 versions of Surya Namaskar. In classical Surya Namaskar, for example, there are 11 postures in the sequence. It is a very good start but I don't perceive it as a complete yoga practice nor do I believe it, in and of itself, delivers healthy living.

gordon

amz155 · 02-10-2010, 07:20 PM

IA,

Do you have a reference where those 17 versions can be found. I'd find it interesting to see how they differ and which one would be best for to incorporate into my practice.

InnerAthlete · 02-11-2010, 01:42 AM

You mean a written reference I presume? No I do not. It was handed to me in the oral tradition. But if you track and find them I would love to see your findings.

gordon

amz155 · 02-11-2010, 01:08 PM

Ah, ok. Yes, I was referring to something I could look up.

02-09-2010, 12:08 PM	#3
InnerAthlete Mostly Good Egg Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 2,128	Hello Octavia, The physical practice one does should result in a balanced body and life for the person doing it. Ergo the answer to much of your question really depends on you. If you spend much of your current living bent over you may want to focus more on backbends and less on forward bends - though each has effect on the body and each has value. But this is merely an example. As you get to know yourself better, crafting an asana practice will be easier. And this is where a teacher would be appropriate. A benefit of having a teacher is to have an trained view of you from external to internal (assessment). Consider learning sequences from class attendance with a well trained teacher. I'd like to add that there are some 17 versions of Surya Namaskar. In classical Surya Namaskar, for example, there are 11 postures in the sequence. It is a very good start but I don't perceive it as a complete yoga practice nor do I believe it, in and of itself, delivers healthy living. gordon __________________ Gordon Kaplan Certified Purna Yoga Teacher (CPYT) Yoga Alliance RYT-500 International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) M.S. Kinesiology, Indiana University http://www.teamyoga.com http://www.yogamojodojo.com http://www.innerathlete.net/forum

02-11-2010, 01:42 AM	#5
InnerAthlete Mostly Good Egg Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 2,128	You mean a written reference I presume? No I do not. It was handed to me in the oral tradition. But if you track and find them I would love to see your findings. gordon __________________ Gordon Kaplan Certified Purna Yoga Teacher (CPYT) Yoga Alliance RYT-500 International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) M.S. Kinesiology, Indiana University http://www.teamyoga.com http://www.yogamojodojo.com http://www.innerathlete.net/forum

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02-09-2010, 01:50 AM	#1
Octavia dvi Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 2	Hi there, I'm very, very new to yoga but the more I read about it the more I fall in love with it. From the physical to the spiritual this seems like a path certainly worth considering. Despite my interest about all aspects of yoga I figured it would be best to start off with poses while I continue to study the lifestyle, spiritual aspects, ect. I've gotten myself stuck on developing my own routine though. There are many basic poses in yoga accessible to beginners. Each of these poses can be categorized into standing, sitting, supine, and prone poses and then further categorized by what areas of the body they are meant to help. My question(s) is(are) this; when developing my own routine is it best to do the same poses daily throughout the week or should I mix it up every day? And if I do a different routine for each day of the week (which is what I was planning on) would it be better to a variety of poses that help a variety of areas each day or should I focus on one area one day and another the next? I apologize if I'm confusing. Thank you for your time and help.

02-09-2010, 03:13 AM	#2
prasad catvaarimshát Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: india Posts: 48	hi, I think its would be a good practice to start with surya namaskar, there are these 6 poses repeated twice, which is all one needs to do for a healthy living, remember this has to be done even number of times say 6, 8 10 or 12 times, depending upon how much time you have you may increase.

02-10-2010, 07:20 PM	#4
amz155 navatí Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Vaughan, Ontario Posts: 91	IA, Do you have a reference where those 17 versions can be found. I'd find it interesting to see how they differ and which one would be best for to incorporate into my practice.

02-11-2010, 01:08 PM	#6
amz155 navatí Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Vaughan, Ontario Posts: 91	Ah, ok. Yes, I was referring to something I could look up.