You may have taken your first steps recently on your yogic path by walking up the stairs and joining us at Unfold Yoga + Wellbeing. At the start it can be hard to know what to expect from yoga. Hopefully some of the early questions have been answered by your experiences in your first few classes at Unfold. No, not everyone is putting their feet behind their heads! No, there is not a lot of weird chanting! No, yoga is not just for young Instagram influencers with coordinated outfits! Yoga is for everyone, regardless of age, gender, race, and background! But what happens next? Why keep coming back?

Yoga is a practice for the entire body, including the muscles, bones, and joints, as well as the cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory and nervous systems. Yoga is also a practice for the mind, enlivening, quietening, rejuvenating, as well as improving concentration. Yoga is a practice for the spirit, giving you time to connect with the stillness and peace that resides within.

What might I experience immediately after one or two classes?

After even just one class, you can expect to feel some tight spots stretched out and released. You may gain a greater awareness of where you hold tension or which joints are stiffer or which muscles need strengthening. Students develop better body awareness with regular class attendance, including asymmetries from side to side or imbalances. Even seemingly simple poses like Tadasana can quickly transform how people hold themselves in daily life as they develop awareness of their body in space and correct alignment. You may also experience some muscle soreness as you start to use muscles in unfamiliar ways and hold postures for longer. This soreness eases quickly when you once again stretch those muscles out. You may become more aware of your internal voice when you are holding unfamiliar poses or in those quieter moments in the class, such as Savasana. Without the distraction of music or mirrors, students become more comfortable focusing internally and starting to discover what is there within themselves.

What might I expect after several months of yoga?

You may find yourself becoming more familiar with the Sanskrit names of the poses. But don’t worry too much if you are not! That will come. You will become more familiar with the flow of a class and how to pace your energy and effort. With the guidance of your teacher, you will learn which props and modifications are most beneficial for you. You may notice some poses are a little easier to hold as your spatial awareness and alignment improves and your strength and flexibility develops. You might be learning to address imbalances in the body through aligning the bones and joints correctly.

You may become more familiar with the effects of the different sets of poses. You might notice that the standing poses make you feel strong and grounded but require effort. You may feel energised after chest opening poses and quieter after forward bending movements. You may know which poses you find challenging, and it is perfectly normal to have emotional responses to poses. You may be developing confidence in poses that you saw others doing early on, but you never thought you would get close to! Perhaps you are starting to go upside down a little more or bending backwards a little more. If you are attending class regularly, you will notice how your body feels if you skip your practice.

Your internal voice may quieten as you learn to focus on your breathing and the positioning of your body. Perhaps you can slide into relaxation faster when you lie down in Savasana. Maybe learning to consciously relax your body helps you fall asleep at night or when you wake up in the middle of the night. Learning to follow your breath in class might help you calm yourself in anxious times during the day or help you address those times when your breathing becomes tense or shallow.

What might I expect after some years of yoga?

The longer-term benefits of yoga to the body systems build over time. Long-term yoga practitioners report their nervous system is less reactive to stressors. Using their knowledge of the poses, they restore their energy and nervous system which improves sleep. The physical and mental strength and stamina built through regular practice improves resilience when facing challenges. At times of low energy, practitioners can use poses such as handstand or headstand or backbends to lift their energy, mentally and physically. Inversions become more important in a long-term practice. When the world around us is turned upside down, it can help if we also turn ourselves upside down and see things from a different perspective!

Bone density improves from regular practice of the weight bearing poses, including the standing poses, inversions, and arm balances. Muscles are strengthened from holding postures in both their lengthened and contracted states. Joint range of motion improves as we learn to use our muscles to support joint mobility.

Cardiovascular health can improve with regular practice of inversions. The initial rise in blood pressure experienced when going upside down is counteracted by the heart rate slowing. This gives the heart a well-earned rest. The cardiovascular system also benefits as we learn to rest the nervous system. Lymphatic drainage is supported by contracting leg muscles and opening regions where the lymph nodes sit, including the armpit chest, the throat, and the groins. Learning to regulate the breath by using the diaphragm correctly and recruiting the intercostal muscles supports the respiratory system. Regular practice of certain restorative poses also gives an often-overworked diaphragm a rest.

by Samantha Smith