I am not flexible, will I be able to do yoga?

Question

I am 30 years old student at california and never been to fitness regime. I want to start yoga but I am scared if I will be better able to do it because I am not flexible at all. I have taken resolution to start this international yoga day on 21st june. Please explain.

Answer 1

Many of us are under impression that only those who have good flexibility are only eligible to do yogasana and other exercises, others having no flexibility or less flexibility cannot do yoga, else yoga can harm them.  This is not true picture of yoga. Instead, anyone can do yoga as per his / her capacity and strength and within his / her permissible range of motion. Obviously this does not include people with fever, accident patient or patients contraindicated by medical doctors. Normal people can do all sorts of basic yogasanas and pranayama /breathing exercises.

If they have certain fears, the only thing they should understand is certain precautions and instructions that yoga instructors inform ususally. If these instructions or precautions are followed, I say congratulations to those who are going to start yoga this 21st june on International Day of Yoga.

Well you should understand the following instructions and precautions mentioned below before starting yoga regime:

1. Follow Persistence in your yoga practice. Persistence & Patience work wonder.  Be it for very little duration, say 20-25 minutes, you should practice yoga regularly. Little but regular yoga practice is far better than the irregular practice of long duration.
2. Every  posture must be followed by 30-40 seconds relaxation. Relaxation must be followed between any two postures, as well as at the end (Deep Relaxation Technique) of the yoga session.  It should also be practiced after warm up and before proceeding to asana.
3. Follow simple principles of Asanas
   1. Exhale when you bend forward.
   2. Inhale when you bend backward.
   3. Exhale when Twist.
   4. Never hold breath; when you hold any posture, breathe naturally
   5. Inhale when coming back from forward bend.
   6. Exhale when coming back from backward bend
   7. Exhale when coming back from twist.
4. Stretch within your flexibility limits / capacity; no need to go beyond your limit.  For example, if you are not able to reach your knees in paschamitonasana, practice within your limits will still give you the full benefits of the asana
5. Never Follow the Principle of No Pain No Gain. Pain is an indicator of something wrong with the posture Or you are not prepared for that posture.
6. If you are not comfortable with the posture, it means either you practising the posture for duration beyond your capacity, OR the posture is wrongly practiced.
7. Always stretch and warm up before yogasanas. Then take five to ten long breaths to relax yourself and lying on back and stretching hands up and toes downward about five times.
8. Better don’t extend time period of exercise more than 1 ½ hours at a time.
9. Do not hold your breath while doing any exercise.
10. Never workout during the first three days of your monthly periods (For Females).
11. You shall feel soreness in the body as you will ideally accustomed to the asana by two weeks from the time you start practicing yoga session.   This will be if you have not stretched your body in a long time. You can use turmeric in milk.
12. After any workout, maintain a gap of 45 minutes before having any food.

I have also made one ppt on basics of yogasanas and pranayama. You can refer there at the following link:

https://www.slideshare.net/GulshanKumar11/basics-of-asana-pranayama-beginners-guide-84363036