YOGA GIRL® SCHOOL 1 YOUR GUIDE TO YOGA YOU ALREADY BELONG......................3 FOUNDATIONAL POSES.......................50 Pose Names................................51 YOGA TODAY....................................6 Common Sequences.....................53 A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOGA..................9 HOW TO START A Branches of Yoga..........................11 MEDITATION PRACTICE.................... 55 8 Limbs of Yoga.......................... 14 DEEPENING YOUR YOGA PRACTICE......58 HOW TO START A YOGA PRACTICE...... 23 Mudras.....................................59 Yoga Props................................24 Kriyas.......................................61 What to Wear.............................30 Bandhas....................................61 Finding your Teacher....................31 Chakras................................... 63 Where to Start............................31 Sanskrit Words...........................69 Times to Practice........................ 32 Foundational Terms.....................70 Days to Practice..........................33 Length of Practice.......................33 SEVA............................................71 Types of Classes.........................33 Creating Your Yoga Space .............34 Staying Motivated.......................35 Yoga and Music.......................... 35 Hands-On Assists.......................36 GETTING ON YOUR MAT....................37 Asana Sequencing.......................40 Home Practice Sequence...............42 Pain and Tightness......................44 Modifications for Injuries...............44 Top 5 poses to Modify....................46 2 YOU ALREADY BELONG “Surround yourself with people that you can be vulnerable with. People that make you feel normal in all of your weirdness. That live their lives according to their own rules and that give you the freedom to be yourself just by being who they are. Kind people. Good-hearted people. Free spirits. Dreamers. Believers. People that are not afraid to stand in their truth and that inspire you to live yours. Keep them close, even if you’re miles apart.” 3 WELCOME TO YOUR GUIDE TO YOGA! Whether you are taking your first steps toward be- ginning a yoga practice or have been enjoying the benefits of stepping onto your mat for a long time; welcome. This book will serve as a great foundation to begin, and also to start again. The most beautiful part of the yoga practice is that it truly is for everyone! For me, yoga came as a saving grace during a time in my life when I expe- rienced so much back pain that I could hardly get out of bed in the morn- ing. Since then, it’s helped heal my back pain, strengthen my body, create space where I’ve felt stuck, and put my mind at ease when I’ve been over- whelmed. It’s been an anchor throughout pregnancy and provided support during injury. It has lifted me up when I’ve felt sad and helped me celebrate when I’ve felt joy. Yoga has allowed me to explore and get to know myself in ways that continue to transform my life. My yoga mat has become a place for me to heal; not just my body, but also my heart. I created this guide as a way to welcome you to the practice and provide tools to help guide you along the way. In it, you will learn everything from the history of yoga to how to start a yoga practice at home, what to look for in a teacher, which styles of yoga might fit you best, how to use yoga props, actual poses and sequences to bring to your mat and much, much more. It is my deepest wish that it will help answer any questions you may have and anchor you to a daily practice that truly has the possibility to change your life. Because it does! The practice of yoga welcomes every student in every phase of life. It honors the body, as it is today and all days. It teaches us to breathe. It centers around compassion and self-love. It aims to open the mind, body and heart. The practice of coming back to our mat again and again allows us to be human. Not only is your yoga practice a way to 4 create flexibility and space in the body, but a way to create space to feel! On the mat we can laugh, cry, find ease, struggle, fall… And we get back up again. Just as we do in life. If you’re worried that yoga might not be for you, let me put your mind at ease. There is no such thing as too old, too young, too large or too small. You don’t have to be flexible to begin. You don’t have to change anything about who you are! Wherever you have found yourself in this moment, yoga can enrich your life immensely. If you are reading these words right now, chances are… You are already on your way. You already belong. The time to start is now. Welcome. x, Rachel 5 YOGA TODAY “Don’t shrink back. Grow. Learn. Evolve. See the loving intent behind each action and soon that love will become part of who you are. With time you will realize that you are whole. You have always been whole. Nothing is lost. Nothing is missing. You are whole and you are one with all that is and you will never, ever feel alone again.” 6 YOGA HAS COME A long way since the prac- tice began over 5000 years ago. Now, there is at least one yoga studio in almost every major city in the entire world! In the United States alone, over 35 million people practice yoga regularly - and this number keeps growing and growing. No matter where you find yourself, yoga has probably popped up somewhere in your life. Yoga is often recommended by doctors as part of a complementary health approach. Schools are introducing the practice into their physical education programs. Expecting mothers are taking classes to prepare for birth, and afterward to connect to their little one. Different kinds of yoga classes are being developed each and every day. In fact, there are well over 100 types of yoga now, from Ashtanga to Vinyasa to Kundalini and more. Still, with the practice expanding and evolving every day, there are many myths surrounding yoga that we hope to overcome. The main one is that you have to be thin and flexible to practice yoga. This is 100% untrue! You can come exactly as you are. If you need more convincing, countless studies done on the practice show that yoga is indeed for everyone. Yoga can boost your immune system. It can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. It can delay aging. It helps to reduce pain. Yoga can work every single muscle in your body! Not only does yoga help you physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Yoga can help ease depression and anxiety. It can reduce stress. It improves your cognitive functioning and can help increase productivity. It can help you through grief. It heals broken hearts. 7 There is one unique aspect about yoga that is often not found in other forms of ‘exercise’. That’s because yoga is not only a way to move your body. Yoga Asana, or the physical postures, are only the tip of the iceberg! The yoga practice has a deep spiritual component. It is a way for you to know yourself. This Guide to Yoga has one goal in mind: to open the yoga doorway for you to explore the practice as a means to connect deeper to yourself. From that first moment of anchoring in to your breath, of moving with intention, of connecting to your heart… You will never have to question again whether or not yoga is for you. You will feel at peace. At home. Let’s start at the beginning… 8 A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOGA “The only way to make peace with who you are is to make peace with your past. Explore your childhood. Your history. It brought you here and it made you who you are; but is this you at your fullest potential? Do you see love in everything? Is this your purpose?” 9 THE PRACTICE OF YOGA began in Northern India 5,000–10,000 years ago. Its sacred texts were passed down orally and often secretly, wich has re- sulted in varying details of yoga’s origin. However, it is widely agreed that the mystics and Vedic priests first wrote about yoga in the oldest sacred text, the Rig Veda, then the Upanishads, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and later the Bhagavad Gita. Yoga masters began traveling to the West in the late 1800s, slowly establishing ashrams, yoga centers, and gaining devoted practitioners amidst heavy controversial judgment. Today, yoga centers exist in nearly every corner of the globe as the practice of yoga only continues to attract more people from all walks of life. There are many misconceptions about yoga; for instance, yoga being a religion. Yoga is not a religion, but a set of techniques for us to access spirituality. In fact, yoga is practiced by people from different religions like Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which can be translated as “yoking” or “union.” Through yoga, we are re-uniting our mind, body and spirit as one - one with ourselves, one with all. It is a coming home. Another misconception is that yoga is an exercise, a way for us to keep fit. This is partly true, but if you think that yoga is only exercise, then you are greatly missing out. Yoga develops the body since a weak one is a hindrance to spiritual growth. A body which aches when seated deters the practitioner from meditating for an extended period. Yoga does not simply focus on the physical but on the mental and spiritual aspects of being, as they are all intertwined. 10 BRANCHES OF YOGA MANY PEOPLE in the modern world only know yoga to be a 60-minute, sweaty movement class. However, there are six branches of yoga.