Yoga is a very slow and calculated form of exercise. The saying “No pain no gain” doesn’t exist in a Yogi’s vocabulary. The mantra of Yoga practice is that if a movement causes you pain, you need to stop doing it immediately. There are a number of categories of Yoga poses. In this article, we’ll look at standing Yoga poses.
Getting standing Yoga poses right
Standing Yoga poses require a rock-solid core
In order to succeed at standing Yoga poses, your core needs to be strong. This is because these muscles stabilise you and allow you to balance in the poses where your centre of gravity is shifted from where it normally is when you’re standing up straight.
For example, in the Warrior I – or Virabhadrasana I as it’s called in Sanskrit – your centre of gravity is shifted as you are distributing your body weight unevenly between your front foot, which is facing forward, and your back foot which is pointing out to the left of the direction your body is facing. Your arms are also up, which throws you off even more. This means that to keep from toppling over, you need to engage your core so that you can keep yourself upright and stabilise yourself.
Balance is key – but don’t push it
In standing Yoga poses, balance will help immensely in ensuring that you keep the correct form. However, if you are concentrating more on keeping your balance and less on making sure that your form is correct, rather make sure that you are near a wall during class so that if you need to you can balance yourself with a hand on the wall and carry out the pose correctly.
Don’t measure yourself against your classmates
Everyone’s anatomy is different. While some may struggle to put the hands flat on the ground when they are standing up straight others will find it difficult to get into downward dog or Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana as it’s called in Sanskrit. (On a separate but related note, if you’re interested in watching a great tutorial on how to perform this foundational Yoga pose, follow this link.)
So if you are unsure about how to perform a particular Yoga standing pose, rather than watching the person in front of you; ask the instructor as they’ll be able to advise you on the best form of the pose for your body.
Standing Yoga poses are some of the first that you’ll learn in your practice of Yoga. This means that it is very important that you get these right before moving onto more advanced techniques.
Do you love the mind-body connection that you feel with your Yoga practice? Do live and breathe Yoga, and want to instruct others in the benefits that Yoga practice has to offer?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you are born to be a Yoga instructor!
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Yoga course is the best Yoga course to sign up for if you want to become a Yoga instructor. It covers the full spectrum of Yoga from meditation and breathing to beginner, advanced and intermediate poses. In addition, the course covers foundational anatomy and physiology; so that you know how to adapt your class according to the needs of the students you are teaching.
This Yoga teaching course is offered online or correspondence so you can fit your studies in with your daily life. This means that you don’t have to disrupt anything while pursuing your passion to become a qualified Yoga instructor!
Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Yoga course is fully endorsed by the Yoga Teachers Fellowship of South Africa (YTF), which falls under the umbrella of the International Yoga Federation. This means that wherever you go and present your qualification, potential employers won’t look twice before hiring you. This is because they know that you are the best of the best because you’ve been trained by Trifocus Fitness Academy.
Contact us now to become the best Yoga instructor you can be by signing up for Trifocus Fitness Academy Yoga course. Leave your details and one of our highly qualified and specialised consultants will get back to you.
