Sometimes a student at my yoga class may ask me this – am I ready for an advanced class? Do you think I am ready for more demanding yoga postures? This is a question that I answer based on what I see of my student’s progress as well on their own assessments and fitness goals. Let us speak today advanced yoga classes, what they entail, readiness for them, and why, in the end, it doesn’t really matter.
Advanced yoga class – what does it mean?
A beginner’s yoga class is typically simpler and less challenging in terms of the poses performed. Postures would be those that even someone unfamiliar with yoga would be able to do. These postures would not need a great deal of strength or flexibility to do. An advanced class would be more challenging and consist of yoga practices that need greater strength, flexibility, and body balance. A beginner trying to do advanced poses is not advisable since this could increase chances of falls or injuries.
Are you ready for advanced yoga classes?
Ask yourself some of these questions to assess whether you are ready for a more challenging yoga class:
- If you’re doing yoga regularly, you may find that some of the postures are becoming easier for you to do. Do you see yourself performing postures more easily, which earlier you found difficult?
- Do you find that you are able to extend your limbs farther than you could before; do you find it easier to align your body as required by each posture? In other words, do you find that your range of motion has increased or that your body has become more flexible?
- Are you finding that you no longer get breathless doing certain activities – not just yoga but other activities such as brisk walking, climbing stairs and so on? In other words, do you find your overall fitness has improved?
- Do you find that you are able to hold yoga poses steady for longer? Has your balance improved? Perhaps you found earlier that holding a pose for some length of time caused a slight tremble but that isn’t happening anymore. Maybe you’re feeling stronger and more centered – this will manifest in different ways. Observe the way that you lift things, how long you can stand on one leg, how well you can walk steadily along a narrow line. Take note of your posture while sitting or walking and so on.
- Do you feel the need to challenge yourself and do you feel ready to learn new things; making greater demands of your own body? Listen to what your body says; it has a wisdom of its own.
- What does your yoga instructor think? While you may be confident in your own abilities and your progress, your instructor has more experience and will be able to offer useful insight as well.
In the end you have to make an informed decision based on your own as well as your instructor’s assessments. The idea is to make steady progress without risking potential injury that could actually result in a setback and reverse the progress you have made so far.
Beginner or advanced class – why this is not an important consideration
If you answered a few or all of the above questions in the negative, this is not important. This is not a measure of the benefit you derive from the practice of yoga. Your yoga class is not like going to school where you must work to be promoted to the next class. It isn’t a competition with others in your class either. Doing yoga is about being physically and mentally fit and healthy.
If you cannot do certain postures that others in your class can, this doesn’t matter. We all have different abilities, and while some are naturally stronger and more flexible, some of us are less so. This doesn’t make one’s yoga practice any less beneficial. What is more important is to be regular with your practice of yoga and to perform postures correctly using the right form.
In the end, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a beginners’ class or intermediate yoga class or advanced yoga class. What matters is that you’re consistent and that you commit fully to optimizing your health and wellness.