Knowing how to practice yoga involves more than knowing how to do the postures. You won't be able to relax very easily in scratchy, stiff clothing that doesn't allow you to move freely. Likewise, the attitude you "wear" can hinder your practice. Learning to suspend your doubts, worries, and fears during your yoga practice is important for progress in your yoga journey. So is understanding when you are pushing yourself too hard, listening to your body to determine what it needs and what it doesn't need, and being prepared for deep breathing by knowing a few basic principles.

Loose Clothing and an Open Mind

You can't practice yoga well unless you're comfortable. The right clothing is important, because if you can't move easily, if your clothes are in the way, or if you are in any way unnecessarily distracted (say by a tight waist or stiff fabric), you won't be able to concentrate fully on your yoga postures.

There isn't any set yoga "uniform," but consider these points when deciding what to wear for your workout:

>- Your clothes should be loose and flexible but not baggy. Tight clothes are restricting, and baggy clothes can get in the way of your movements. T-shirts and shorts or leggings, tank tops and biking shorts, or a not-too-baggy sweatsuit are ideal.

>- Dress for the temperature. If the weather is cold, choose long sleeves and comfortable pants that don't restrict your movement (sweatpants or leggings are both good choices). Remember to keep a blanket nearby in case you get chilly.

>- Your clothing shouldn't bind anywhere. If the feel of your clothes is very noticeable around your waist or at your ankles or wrists, they are probably too tight. Also, binding clothes will restrict the flow of energy through your body.

You should be able to distinguish the basic shape of your body. Your teacher will need to see how you are holding the postures to make sure you are doing them correctly. If you are doing yoga on your own, relatively form-fitting clothing will allow you to check your form and alignment in a mirror without trying to imagine your form in a pose under that oversized T-shirt and those baggy pants.

Yoga is best performed in bare feet. The more you practice yoga, the more sensitive and in tune with your environment you'll become, and that includes your feet!

Don't forget to remove all metal jewelry before you practice, especially necklaces and bracelets. Yoga is about freeing the flow of energy in your body, and that energy could be disrupted by metal.

Avoid wearing perfume, strongly scented deodorant, or cologne during your yoga practice. It can be unpleasant to others in your yoga class, especially during pranayama (breathwork).

And what's the most important thing to wear? An open mind! The most perfect yoga outfit won't do you any good if you aren't mentally prepared. Before every yoga practice, take a few moments of quiet to prepare for your workout.

Think about what you are about to do and what you want to accomplish. If you're just getting started, even if you aren't completely convinced yoga can do everything people say it can, willingly suspend your disbelief, just for a little while. An open mind means a body open to new movements and achievements. You may surprise yourself at what you can accomplish when you aren't wasting your energy doubting yourself and your workout.

Are You Kidding? My Body Won't Do That ...

Now that you're properly attired, you look like a yogi—but do you feel like a yogi? Maybe you're reluctant to begin that very first practice, because you know you aren't flexible or you're convinced you won't be able to achieve any of the postures you've heard about or seen.

The problem with an attitude of doubt is that it not only undermines your self-confidence, but it implies that you see yoga as a competition. We've said it before, but we can't emphasize enough how important this concept is, especially for competitive and goal-oriented people: Yoga is not a competitive sport! If you can't do the lotus position today, that doesn't matter one iota. Eventually, with regular practice, it will come. And even if it doesn't, it's still not a reflection on your ability as a yogi. You are much more than your body, and much more than the poses your body can achieve.

If you have a hard time relinquishing your competitive nature, try addressing your inner thoughts with these responses:

Your thought: I'm much more flexible than that poor guy next to me!

Your response to yourself: My body is responding well today.

Your thought: I'll never be able to do a headstand!

Your response to yourself: I'll master this shoulderstand any day now, as long as I keep practicing. Maybe then I'll think about trying to learn the headstand.

Your thought: I think the teacher likes me best.

Your response to yourself: I've really found a teacher who understands me and my yoga needs.

Your thought: At this rate, I'll never be as flexible as that girl in the front.

Your response to yourself: That girl in front does that posture well. I'll try to visualize how it would feel to hold the posture that way, and maybe my body will understand the posture better.

Your thought: I look really hot in this new workout gear or I look really hot in this muscle shirt and bicycle shorts, followed by I wonder if there will be any cute guys/girls in the class.

Your response to yourself: I feel really good in these clothes. I think they will be great for yoga. (What do you think your yoga class is, anyway—a singles' bar?)

Each posture you try should be a movement you're able to perform. Accept your current level of fitness and respect it. Also accept how you feel from day to day. You may be able to do postures one week that you suddenly are unable to achieve the next week. So many factors besides how "in shape" you are determine your ability to achieve a pose. Your mood, your stress level, the time of day, how well you have warmed up, your current feelings about yourself, the natural ebb and flow of your energy level—all these conditions will affect your workout. Each day, find your own movement and level.

Then start at that level, progressing as your body allows. Some days you may move ahead noticeably in your flexibility or strength. On other days, you may feel as if you have regressed. That's natural, and the regression will soon correct itself, so don't let it worry you. A good teacher can help you determine how fast you can advance, but you can also listen to your body, because it will tell you, too—as long as it isn't being overruled by your ego.

Remember that yoga is about toning down the ego. Your ego is what tells you to try to outdo the girl next to you or to match the picture in the book precisely. Your ego encourages you to try postures that are beyond your current fitness level, to hold postures too long, or to try the most difficult version of a posture first.

When your ego acts up ("How come I don't look like that when I do the shoulderstand?"), gently steer your mind in another direction. Remind yourself that this is your journey, and your progress is all that matters. The yoga road has no maximum or minimum speed limit!

No Pain, Supreme Gain

If you've ever participated in any team athletics, whether elementary school kickball or professional basketball, you've probably been told by some coach or teacher somewhere along the line that if it doesn't hurt (or isn't, at the very least, mildly unpleasant), you just aren't working hard enough.

The interesting thing about yoga, and one of its distinctly non-Western qualities, is that it allows you to work incredibly hard without ever feeling pain, dis-

comfort, or even displeasure of any kind. Yoga should be innately enjoyable because ...

>- It doesn't hurt. Causing yourself pain would be to ignore the observance of ahimsa (nonviolence).

>- It boosts all of you. A successful yoga workout increases self-esteem, along with fitness and awareness.

>- It purifies your body, mind, and soul. Being clean feels good!

>- Even at its most serious, yoga is just plain fun!

Yoga should never cause you pain. Pain means violence and possibly injury. Violence and injury mean a setback. Better to move slowly and steadily forward than to jump ahead in leaps and bounds, then fall back bedridden for a month. You'll gain so much more strength, flexibility, sensitivity, and awareness if you are so attuned to your body that you push it to its limit, but never far enough to hurt anything. Respect your body, don't abuse it—it's an integral part of you, after all.

Of course, none of us is perfect, and in any physical activity, occasionally we all overdo it, especially when we're trying to outdo someone (even ourselves!). We know you're trying to listen to your body and not be competitive. But just in case, watch out for these signs that you may have injured yourself:

>- Severe back pain and muscle spasms could be a sign of a back sprain, often caused by a sudden bending of the spine that tears ligaments.

>- Immediate, acute shoulder pain that gets worse over the course of a few hours may be caused by a tear in the tendons and/or muscles around the shoulder joint. A severe tear may inhibit movement and can be caused by a minor fall on an outstretched hand.

>- Pain in the knee and an inability to straighten the knee, followed by swelling that lasts for two weeks or more, may be due to torn cartilage. This can happen when a bent knee is twisted.

>- Foot pain from standing for excessive amounts of time or overusing the foot can result in a strain or sprain.

>- Dizziness can be a sign of low or high blood pressure or blood sugar levels. If you become dizzy, sit down immediately. Check this condition with your doctor.

>- Headaches can have numerous sources. One reason people get headaches is because of insufficient oxygen. Pranayama to the rescue! Breathing exercises may help your headaches, and the stress-reducing aspects of yoga can also be helpful for this common problem.

Of course, the best way to handle an injury is to prevent it. Stay alert to your body. Communicate with your muscles and joints. Be kind to them. Remember ahimsa (nonviolence)!

Finding the Edge vs. Feeling the Burn

"But if yoga is so easy on your body, how are you supposed to get anywhere?" you may wonder. Hey, we never said yoga was easy! Yoga isn't always easy. Sometimes it's downright difficult. Just because you aren't committing violence to your body doesn't mean a yoga workout is akin to a day of sunbathing at the beach. On the contrary: Yoga can be tough and intensely challenging.

The difference between yoga and other types of exercise is that the challenge and the progression are deeply internal and subtle. Perhaps you've been trying to accomplish a pose in which you bend forward and touch your head to your knees. The first time you try it, you don't even come close. You can barely bend forward without your back causing you pain, so bend your knees and slowly work at bringing the head and upper body down. Slowly build so that your back strengthens and you can straighten your knees. Lean into your farthest point in the stretch and hold it. Remember to keep breathing, letting your breath travel through your body and into the pose. Holding the pose won't hurt (not exactly), but you'll definitely feel something. Your muscles may shake a bit, and that's okay, as long as you aren't forcing the issue. You may even break a sweat. You're feeling the "edge" of your flexibility as well as an edge of your awareness. Your muscles are waking up and saying, "Hey! What is it you want us to do? This is weird, but okay, we'll give it a try." Your mind is waking up, too, and taking notice.

The next time you try this pose, you get a little closer—maybe three or four inches from your knees. The farthest point of the stretch is now a little farther than it was before. You stretch to this point and hold it. Now your muscles have become accustomed to a new "normal" level of flexibility. You find the new edge and test it—not to the point of pain, but just to see where it now lies. Your muscles feel it, and so does your mind.

A few weeks, or months, or maybe a lifetime later (how long it takes isn't important, because it's not a competition), you lean into the stretch and ... wow! There it is! Suddenly your head is resting quite easily on your knees. You've stretched your boundaries and pushed your edge to a new level. At this point, you may simply feel

triumphant, but you may also feel an awakening to a new level of yourself. No longer simply proud of your achievement, you're now aware of yourself in a new way.

Therein lies yoga's power—the physical process breaking into the mental process and lifting the whole of you to higher and higher states of awareness.

Keep in mind that every posture contains an "edge" or a point past which—for today, at least—you can't quite go. This is the point around which you want to linger, because it's the source of yoga's power. You'll soon see how productive it is to recognize an edge but not let it define you.

Don't Forget to Breathe

And once again, we remind you of your ever-present breath. Although breathing exercises are performed separately from the postures, breathing is also important during the postures. Of course, you have to breathe while exercising, but becoming aware of your breath, even breathing in a specific way according to the posture you are holding, will enhance your practice and help your body work better.

Here are a few breath-savvy concepts to keep in mind while practicing your asanas:

Inhalation most often occurs when your chest opens, your limbs extend outward or upward, and your head is up.

Exhalation most often occurs when your chest contracts inward, your limbs move close to your body, your head is down, and your body curls into itself.

Retaining the breath after an inhalation helps stabilize and energize the chest area.

Retaining the breath after an exhalation helps stabilize and energize the abdominal area, and releases toxins from the body.

Forward-bending poses are conducive to exhalation, then retention.

Backbending poses are conducive to inhalation, then retention.

Breathing deeply and well during exercise keeps a steady supply of oxygen in the blood so muscles can work at their peak. Breathing keeps the mind calm and focused, which will further enhance your workout. And since the breath is the vehicle by which prana, the universal life force, enters the body, you'll certainly want to breathe

Ouch!

If you become out of breath or fatigued during your workout, stop! Yoga isn't circuit training, marathon running, or nonstop anything. Rest is encouraged within a workout—as a transition from one type of posture to another, as a chance to feel the aftereffects of a posture, and to maintain awareness. Bodies aren't meant to be exhausted but to be gently and lovingly improved and maintained.

V Wear comfortable clothing during yoga.

V Don't be competitive.

V Don't force any posture until it hurts, but keep exploring your limits.

V If you have any lingering pain, consult a doctor immediately; don't wait for it to become chronic.

V Breathe deeply and often!

The Least You Need to Know

deeply during your workout. Prana is the energy that keeps you vibrant and animated. It's the key to a great workout, so get as much into you as possible! Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!