Are You Ready to Plunge into Yoga?

Lac de Montriond. Photo credits: Polly Shaul / Yoga in the Alps, Mindful Holidays

Are you interested in trying out Yoga? However you're feeling a little bit lost on where to start? Or are you nervous that you'll be the "worst" person in a Yoga studio class?

Here's four tips to help you make the first steps into practicing Yoga:

1) You can practice at home for FREE.

Most of my Yoga practice is actually done at home rather than in studios.

There are lots of amazing Yoga classes offered online via YouTube (and many other video platforms) and through mobile phone Apps.

Here are some of my favourite online Yoga teachers:

• Tim Senesi I credit Tim for helping me build up a daily Yoga practice routine particularly through his 30 Day Yoga Challenge - it starts off really simple but that does not necessarily mean it'll be a breeze! Beginners are also able to follow along but even more experienced practitioners can learn a lot by going back to the basics sometimes!

• Brett Larkin I completed my 200 hours Yoga Teacher Training with Brett. What I really learnt from Brett is that Yoga and the Asana (Yoga poses) are tools to empower and serve you to become the best, rather than forcing your body into particular Yoga poses. Brett has so many Yoga videos on YouTube (ranging from short to longer practices, strength-building to more relaxing practices and more). Check out her video playlists here.

• Kassandra Reinhardt Kassandra has a real passion for Yin Yoga - a style of Yoga that rather works on the fascia tissue (the connective tissue which envelopes our organs) instead of the muscles. This style of Yoga is slower and more meditative in nature. Don't mistake this to mean that it's going to be a class you can just fall asleep in! The Yoga poses are held on average 1.5 to 3 minutes to really allow stretching into the fascia.

2) Mobile phone Apps

When I first started my Yoga journey, I mostly practiced at home with the help of mobile Apps. The number one app I recommend is Down Dog (free trial but then it's a subscription service, but basically works out to about the price of 2-3 yoga classes for a whole year's subscription). This app is amazing in that it allows you to choose from practices as short as 4 minutes up to 90 minutes, offers customisation to focus on particular areas (e.g. back strength, flexibility, aerobic, core, upper body strength & many more!) and even comes with a range of playlists. To this day, this is the app I most frequently use to practice Yoga at home (also to find inspiration for classes I teach)!

3) Get a buddy to practice with you!

Get a friend to try out Yoga with you - this makes it less daunting to try it out if you go for Yoga Studio classes. Regularly practicing with a friend makes it fun and more likely that you'll stick to practicing (...also makes for a good excuse to get together and enjoy light brunch/coffee/cakes after the yoga practice - you've earned it!)

If you're living in Bern, I can personally recommend these studios: Yoga Luna & Open Yoga. In Basel, check out my good friend, Savina Osswald's studio: Anjali.

4) Contact me!

Feel free to contact me if you have questions (not just for private classes, I am happy to also answer questions!) and I'd be extremely happy to help you find out what could be a good way for you to try out Yoga.

You can contact me via e-mail, direct message on Instagram or via the website contact form! :-)

I hope you find some of the above resources useful.

Namaste and I wish you a beautiful day.

Lester