Beginning Yoga: Barriers of Entry

Yoga is very popular. It’s everywhere. It seems like everyone does it. And yet, if you don’t currently do yoga, it can be difficult and intimidating to begin.

What are the barriers of entry?

For starters, yoga poses are hard. The classical form of most poses is inaccessible to most people. We are constantly bombarded by images in the media of pretty people and celebrities doing flexible and strong poses. They make the most difficult poses look easy, enticing us to try this ancient discipline with it’s many benefits. However, our initial attempts rarely match our ideas about how yoga is “supposed” to feel or look.

Meditation is also hard. Have you ever tried to sit still and find mental and emotional clarity and stillness? “My back hurts…I’m hungry…we are out of milk…” Sound familiar?

Yoga culture itself can be strange. Do you need tight and bright exercise clothing? Do you need to talk in new-agey self-help slogans? Do you need to wear beads around your neck and your wrists? Do you need to have an OM sticker on your car, or tattooed on your body?

According to the 2012 study “Yoga in America:”

• 20.4 million Americans currently participate in yoga
• Almost 105 million Americans are interested but have so far not participated, or have participated in the past, and would like to start again.

And yet, the benefits are many:

On its most surface level, yoga is a challenging and fun discipline that keeps the body fit.
It regulates the internal organs and balances the circulatory, respiratory, and hormonal systems.

Yoga alleviates stress, aids in the healing of physical injuries and illnesses.

Yoga helps us to reclaim our general sense of well-being; physically, emotionally, and spiritual.

What are your barriers of entry? Or, what were your barriers of entry?

Our newest online course, YOGA 101, aims to make yoga accessible for YOU — whatever your level of strength and flexibility. We’ll begin at the beginning, and break down the barriers of entry together in a focused, supportive way.

• YOU can do yoga to help reduce stress, relieve lower back pain, enhance your athletic pursuits, and reclaim your sense of well-being.
• The postures in this course are challenging, yet can be done by the average person.
• The mindfulness meditations are simple and approachable, so that you can experience their benefits immediately.
• Learn yoga poses for YOUR body, whoever you are, wherever you are, whenever you can!
• Begin to practice daily, in a way that is sustainable and appropriate, so that you can continue your yoga practice long after the course is finished.

For more information on YOGA: 40 Days of Yoga to Change Your Life, or to register for the course, go to: https://mazeonyoga.com/yoga-101-practice/