A Beginner’s Yoga Journey — Part 3
Written by Mark Luskus

If you’re new to my Beginner’s Yoga series, make sure you read Part 1 and Part 2

Well, it’s official. I’ve caught the yoga bug! After a bit of a slow start, I have now fallen into a place where I look forward to my practice rather than slightly dread it as I do with other forms of exercise. I’m starting to understand that not only does yoga challenge my body, it calms my so that I feel more centered and refreshed post-practice. Yoga truly is a whole body experience.

I have continued to focus on Grokker videos that teach foundational techniques and poses. As I’ve said before, I want to make sure I have all the knowledge necessary to progress safely and correctly.

I joined Siri Peterson in her video Strengthening Your Foundation because I wasn’t feeling comfortable about how I was planting my hands. I was noticing wrist pain during hand intensive poses, and I felt that my hands were really becoming an impediment to my journey. Siri did a wonderful job explaining creating a foundation through your hands and feet. I learned the correct way to plant my hands and I noticed a decrease in the wrist pain that I have felt. I’m confident (partly thanks to Siri’s wonderful words of encouragement on my ‘I Did This’ photo) that as I practice my alignment, this pain will vanish..

Richard Fattal, a member of the Grokker team, recommended that I spend some time with Grokker Expert

Celest Pereira. Celest has two videos that are tailored for beginners. I started with her video Beginner’s Backbends and Balances. Firstly, Celest is so kind and encouraging and takes the time to explain the purpose of each pose and how you can make them work for your skill level. Secondly, this video was the perfect level of difficulty for me. I felt challenged and safe, and I finished my practice knowing that I had learned so much about backbends and balances.

I also completed Celest’s video Beginner’s Hip and Shoulders. This was quite challenging and showed me just how tight my hips and shoulders are. I wasn’t surprised that my shoulders were tight since I’ve had posture problems over the years (which have mostly been corrected through strength training). However, I was pretty surprised that my hips were so tight. I could barely do some of the poses! I didn’t let this get me down though because Celest said that as long as I feel something in the right place, I’m headed in the right direction.

Thank you to everyone for your words of encouragement as I continue down this path. It means so much and helps me every day. As always, I’d love your recommendations on what videos to do next!