Question: where does a yoga beginner begin yoga?

A good friend of mine recently asked me where to being when looking for a yoga class and this was my response. It's a good question, and the answer is simply, commit and follow your nose. If you're thinking of starting, or changing teachers or forms, have a wee read of this mail to give you tips on what to consider.

Below is a copy of our correspondence about beginning the yoga teacher search.

Hey S,

Your "Do you know of good teachers in Melbourne?" question has many many answers; many answers but really it only ever has one answer. Follow your nose, sniff it out with your heart.

There are lots of forms of yoga ... and they vary enough for some people to become devoted to a form because it may somehow speak something to the practitioner that they understand, or want to understand. It's important to remember that movement arts are, at their simplest, a form of communication.

At the moment I'm trying to get my body around Ashtanga, but in the past I've loved Iyenga. My attraction to Ashtanga is unclear to me right now.

I've a basic rule of thumb when going to any class: I always go to a new teacher on word of mouth and commit to 5 classes, then move on and do the same until I find the teacher and the form that I love.

I have a 100% faith in movement practice being entirely and perfectly right for me, so I go into all classes with an open-opportunity gateway in my soul and recognise that all classes and all teachers are good for me. Having said that health food is good for us but often tastes like shit, so ... initially and ultimately it's about commitment and following through. No Pain-No Gain is inapplicable to yoga, btw.

There is a great space in Fitzroy very close to you:

My friend loves the classes taught by Eoin @ the Melbourne Ashtanga Yoga Centre. I'm coming over in April to do one of his lead classes on a Sunday morning.

Maybe enroll in a beginners Ashtanga course.
The space down there in Firtzroy is beautiful.
Ashtanga will get you REAL strong and REAL fit REAL fast.

I like to tone my practice down in the winter and top up on slow regenerative Hatha style practice. Learning to break down the poses and getting to know them on a intuitive level is really important. Yoga works on all of the subtle bodies of Us; breaks down our proverbial onion skins, layer by layer.

Ashtanga is taught in a set series of movements that always follow the same sequence.
It's strong and fast and gives little time to contemplate what's happening: I love it!
Wear shorts and a tight singlet and bring a towel.

Iyenga style spend more time in the postures, have a more analytical mode of teaching, slightly more pared back than Ashtanga. I love Iyenga too. Wear long tight leggings and a singlet. Take a long sleeve too. This school has had a good rep for years: http://www.rathdowneyogaroom.com.au

Hatha is more sit and breathe and maybe chant, and all that jive: more om shanti, so to speak. Wear your favourite trackies.

Does this help?
Love
D