A New Guy's Guide to Yoga

Sept. 19, 2013— -- intro: Before you set foot inside a yoga class, you should be able to wrap your legs around your head, keeping a beatific smile on your face while choking on incense and simultaneously engaging your bhandas (yes, that's legal).

Just kidding! None of this need apply—provided you act on our advice. Here's how to avoid common pitfalls and surprises—and how to look like anything but a beginner. All of this and more can be found at iyogalife.com. That's where you can also locate a yoga class, since after reading this article you'll be ready to sign up. Baron Baptiste, a tough-love yoga teacher who specializes in boot camps for the uninitiated, is here to guide you.

quicklist: 1category: What You Need to Know About Yogatitle: Yoga is not a culturl: text: Closer to physiology class than a Trekkie convention, yoga is a bona fide science.

Yes, some instructors talk of prana (the life force), display Hindu or Buddhist deities, or lead classes in brief chanting. Don't let this stuff spook you; just consider it something to focus on, rather than, say, the sirens outside or your neighbor's nice legs. Concentrate on the techniques you're learning, especially matching your movements to your breathing.

"Focusing on the physical aspects of yoga is where you start," Baptiste says. "The rest is yours for the taking but entirely optional."

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quicklist: 2category: What You Need to Know About Yogatitle: Give your Visa card a breatherurl: text: Your "new" yoga clothes may already be in your closet. Try not to choose your baggiest gym clothes, though.

"Tight clothes make it easier for teachers to see how your body is set from the feet to the shoulder blades, so they can adjust your pose," Baptiste says.

Do buy a mat. Germs thrive on studio-owned mats, and yours will probably pack more cushion and stickiness than the studio's tired stock.

quicklist: 3category: What You Need to Know About Yogatitle: Your yoga's only as good as your teacherurl: text: Teachers registered with the Yoga Alliance have had 200 to 500-plus hours of training at an approved studio. (Go to yogaalliance.org and click on "Registered Teachers" to plug in a name.) In class you should feel a personal connection to your teacher and enjoy his or her style of teaching.

An experienced instructor recognizes when a student is struggling and "allows the individuals to adapt each posture to themselves," Baptiste says. Another clue you're in good hands: The teacher asks new faces in the room to describe their experience levels and injuries.

quicklist: 4category: What You Need to Know About Yogatitle: The front row is for geeksurl: text: Okay, not really. But new students should choose another spot.

"Start in the second row or the middle of the room so you can see what the rest of the class is doing, and what the teacher is doing," Baptiste says.

You might want to take a spot near the wall for support during balancing moves and standing stretches. (And, no, that's not considered cheating.)

quicklist: 5category: What You Need to Know About Yogatitle: You can take timeoutsurl: text: Anytime you feel that you can't hang with what the teacher and class are doing, just take a break by going into child's pose: Kneel on the floor, sitting on your heels. Bring your big toes together and your knees about hip-width apart, then lean forward, essentially lying facedown on the mat with your legs bent underneath you. Breathe.