Good day, Steemians!

Be curious, not judgmental. -- Walt Whitman

As I say, I love the yoga, and I especially love to share it! A few days ago, I made a post asking my fellow Steemians how I can help you along your path, and the response was really touching. Thank you, Steemit!!! 💕

Lots of people are interested in starting or deepening their practices, and this truly makes my heart sing--yoga is a real miracle, an actual reset for the dysfunctional programming modern humans generally operate under. It's a science, an art, and a lifestyle. 

For me, it's a blessing to share the wealth of yoga knowledge because it adds real, tangible value to life. Every aspect of life is better when you are healthy and thriving, and yoga can guide you there! 

I noticed a few questions came up again and again in response to my post:

1. Where do I start?
2. What can I do for the pain in my neck, shoulders, and head from crouching over my computer all day (i.e. "tech neck")? 

Given that these are such common thoughts, I'd like to address them both. In this post, I will offer my opinion on how to get into a practice, and I will provide solutions for tech neck in an upcoming article. 

Without further ado...

How do I start a yoga practice?

If you are asking yourself this question, then your practice has already begun, grasshopper... 

Yoga is a journey of the self, through the self, to the self. -- Bhagavad Gita

Yoga is the union of mind, body, and soul, so literally ANYTHING you do with focus and awareness that can get you to that point is yoga! But most Westerners do not consider dissolving into the infinite by becoming one with their toy train or cookie jar collections, so let's pretend you are like most Westerners and envision yoga as the ability to put your legs behind your head.

Then the real question is what do you want out of a yoga practice?

Are you looking for a traditional experience?

...I'm not going to give it to you, and neither will a teacher in $100 stretchy pants at Yoga-4-Eva Studio on Main Street, and here's why:

Yoga as a practice is said to have begun 5,000 years ago in India when it was gifted to humanity by Lord Shiva (although new research suggests that it may be way older, with roots in ancient Egypt...but that's a topic for another day). It was an oral tradition passed from teacher to student, until some unknown scribe decided to record some info on a few palm fronds.

Let's be real:
a) Palm fronds are not exactly permanent stores of information.
b) The human mind can twist some shit! 

So whatever information has filtered down through the millenia is quite likely a twisted version of the original. 

Ok, so maybe no one even really knows what traditional really means, but there styles of yoga that strive to maintain integrity of their lineage, as well as some classic yoga texts. If you want a "traditional" experience, then I suggest you start by reading these:

• The Bhagavad Gita. This is the first text that mentions yoga, and it is a smaller portion of the Indian epic the Mahabarata (which is a chronicle of the Kuruksetra War). In the BG, the warrior Arjuna despairs as he faces battle with his kinsmen, and he calls out to Lord Krishna for guidance. Krishna delivers some stellar gems, such as "Be one in self-harmony, in Yoga, and arise, great warrior, arise", and you can always glean something new from re-reading this text. 
• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. These are 196 sutras (the Sanskrit word for "threads") that outline 8 limbs of yoga and guidelines for leading a life of integrity. It doesn't have much to do with postures at all!

Obviously there will be some variance through the texts depending on the translator/editors, but unless you're going to teach yourself Sanskrit, that's what we have to work with. 

There are some teachers who have done great things in bringing yoga to the Western world, and you might like to check out their works too. These are serious influencers way before social media was a thing:

• J. Krishnamurti
• Swami Satchidananda--FYI: sat = truth, chit = consciousness, ananda = bliss. Sat-chid-ananda.
• Satyananda Saraswati
• BKS Iyengar--He wrote Light on Yoga, which is "classic" in its own right, but I didn't include it in the list of classical classics because it was published in 1966...classic.
• BNS Iyengar, who somewhat confusingly is unrelated to BKS Iyengar.
• Yogi Bhajan
• Sri T. Krishnamacharya
• Indra Devi
• Krishna Pattabhi Jois
• Swami Kripalvananda
• Swami Vishnu-devananda--He wrote The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga which modern yogis seem to like
• Paramhansa Yogananda--He wrote Autobiography of a Yogi

I'm sure I left some out, but there you go. That as good a start as any to "traditional" yoga. I myself am not a fan of dogma or even classes for that matter, but eat it up if that's your jam!! 

Are you looking for a physical experience?

This is what I suspect most people mean when they want to get into yoga, because holding crazy poses is almost the exclusive image that is presented as what it means to do yoga. And that's totally cool, as the asana = posture aspect of yoga practice offers undeniable benefits for the body! 

If this is what you're looking for, then you probably want to know what style to choose, right? I don't know what's best for you and neither does the Yoga-4-Eva Studio. You have to tune into yourself and decide what's best--yoga's all about that self-empowerment!

Yoga Styles:

Hatha yogas are based on movement and breathwork and focus on harnessing and directing life force energy = prana to create balance within the body, mind, and soul. These are some styles of hatha yoga:

• Ashtanga--means "8 limbs"; postures are just one aspect. Somewhat rigid; the same poses are performed in the same sequence almost every time.
• Vinyasa--means "flow". Likely to be different routines every time you practice. 
• Ashtanga vinyasa--hybrid of asthanga and vinyasa.
• Yin AKA restorative--very nurturing, often extensive use of props. Generally holds poses for a long time and focuses on stress & tension release through the breath. 
• Kundalini--really weird, but debatably the closest to "original" yoga. Focuses on releasing and directing the kundalini energy coiled at the base of the spine through breathwork and repetitive movements called kriyas. 
• Bikram--hot yoga
• Iyengar--super focused on alignments, and you may hold a pose for awhile.
• Anusara--focused on gratitude and grace throughout the movements.

Personally, I choose ashtanga or a hybrid because it makes a lot of sense to me. So if you follow me, you're going to get an ashtanga slant in my yoga posts. 

There are other styles that are not based in movement as well: Karma yoga is the yoga of service or work. It suggests giving of yourself without attachment to the outcome of your efforts. Bhakti is the yoga of love and devotion. Jnana is the yoga of self-reflection, inquiry, and exploration. There's even yoga of food (ana) and sound (nada), because as I said anything you do consciously can bring you to unity!

Are you looking for a metaphysical experience?

This is where it's really at for me!! One of the greatest aspects of yoga is its ability to teach you things that are super important to the human experience, but modern society tries to beat out of you. For example, patience! An instructor can say some inspirational shit and show you some super cool poses, but really exploring the non-physical realms all comes down to you.

I highly recommend meditation to one and all, and you can find a cool meditation class or you can give it a go at home or in nature. I've shared some of my own experience with meditation (I started by committing to 5 minutes a day, and even then I had to set a timer so I wouldn't bolt), and I'd be happy to go further into that if anyone wants to know more. If you really want to go deep, if you really want to get to know yourself, then I suggest plopping down on a cushion or your mat or a chair or whatever, bringing your awareness to your breath, and witnessing whatever comes up. That's a real adventure, for sure! 

TL;DR

You can go to your local gym and sign up for a class on your lunch break as I have done, or you can go to India and read original classic texts and study with masters as I have also done, or you can freestyle in your backyard in your underwear as I regularly do. It's all fine! Do whatever you want! YOU are the most important person in a yoga practice!!!

How to get started in yoga?? Follow @saramiller, and I'll break it all down. 

💛 Sara!