Starting a Yoga Practice

How to Start a Yoga Practice (4 Steps)

Published on November 13, 2007

While there is a lot to learn, discover, and explore in the tradition of yoga, it is best to start simply and not let yourself be overwhelmed. Our How to Start a Yoga Practice guide will give you the 4 basic steps to starting a yoga practice. We have kept this list short and sweet to make it accessible and easy to accomplish!

4 Steps to Start a Yoga Practice

There are four basic steps to getting started with yoga. We have kept this list to the bare minimum–there is almost an endless amount to learn about both the physical yoga practices as well as the philosophical underpinnings of yoga. Once you have worked through this list, continue on with our Yoga for Beginner’s section and keep adding to your journey as it feels appropriate.

1. Learn how to breathe

The most important thing to do in yoga is to breathe, especially when holding the postures. Learn the basic Dirga pranayama breath to use during yoga. Most importantly, breathe in and out through the nose into the belly. Read our Breathing in Asana article for more advice on breathing while practicing yoga poses. Most importantly, let your breath be your guide throughout your yoga practice.

2. Start with a brief meditation and intention

Sit in easy pose or accomplished pose (or any comfortable seating position) and take a few minutes to ground, center and focus inwards with one of our meditations. You may also want to set an intention, goal or prayer for your practice at the beginning meditation.

3. Use basic and beginning level postures

Make sure you have read our General Practice Guidelines before attempting any yoga poses. Start with one of our warm-up sequences and then try one of our basic yoga pose sequences and/or these simple postures: seated twist, cat, dog, down dog, child, cobra, mountain, triangle, forward bend. Then check out our list of best poses for beginners and explore our Yoga Pose section to find additional poses to add to your practice. It is best to add new poses very slowly.

4. End with Shavasana (relaxation pose)

Always end your yoga practice with Shavasana, resting on your back and consciously relaxing your body for 5-15 minutes. It is also recommended to practice a short seated meditation after Shavasana to integrate your yoga practice and transition back into the world.

Beginner Tips

Please note that it is common for the first couple of times practicing yoga to feel awkward and strange; this will pass with time and practice. It is essential to be kind and compassionate with yourself as you find your footing in the poses and the breathing. Most importantly, stay present with your experience and accept your current limitations. Once you get comfortable with the practice you may consider setting some appropriate and reachable goals.

beginner yoga moves

Yoga Videos for Beginners

If you want to try out some beginner yoga moves before joining a group class to get a better understanding of what is involved then check out this great list of 14 free yoga videos. We have conveniently grouped these videos by short, medium and long class lengths.

Share with

Friends

Our Latest

Yoga Articles
  • Purusharthas

    Purusharthas: The Four Goals of Life

  • Trimurti

    Trimurti: The Hindu Trinity of Brahma Vishnu Shiva

  • Brahman

    Brahman: Definition, Meaning, and Philosophy

  • Yoga Nidra

    Yoga Nidra: Meaning, Benefits, Videos and Tips

  • Living Like a Yogi

    17 Rules for Living Like a Yogi

  • heart opening yoga poses

    The Best 16 Heart Opening Yoga Poses

  • Negative Energy in a Person

    18 Clear Signs of Negative Energy in a Person

  • Three Doshas

    The Three Ayurvedic Doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha

Remove Ads with a

Premium Membership

Viewing ads supports YogaBasics, which allows us to continue bringing you quality yoga content. Sign up for a premium membership to remove all ads and enjoy uninterrupted access to the best yoga resources on the web.

Explore More

Yoga TipsAdviceArticlesPracticesBasicsTechniques

  • Yoga for exercise

    Is Yoga Enough for Your Exercise and Fitness Needs?

  • Yoga Intentions, Goals, Resolutions & Affirmations

    Choosing Intentions, Resolutions & Affirmations for Positive Change

  • yoga skin care tips

    7 Essential Skin Care Tips Every Yogi Should Know

  • 11 Ways to Improve Your Yoga Practice

    11 Ways to Improve Your Yoga Practice

  • Yoga practice community

    How to Find Your Practice Community

  • yoga breathing pranayama

    Keep Calm and Breathe On: The Science of Pranayama

  • hot yoga

    Hot Yoga: Definition, Benefits, Cautions and Tips for Newbies

  • wrist pain in yoga

    Wrist Pain in Yoga? 12 Tips to Prevent Sore Wrists

  • Warrior Poses

    The 5 Warrior Poses of Yoga

44 responses to “How to Start a Yoga Practice (4 Steps)”

  1. rhed1807 Avatar
    rhed1807

    I like your site. I’m into yoga for several months now but I’m still learning a lot of things in here.

  2. lovely Avatar
    lovely

    yoga has always fascinated me, got the chance to practice it once and i have read about its benefit for the mind and body

  3. home Avatar
    home

    This is just what I was looking for. Logic told me I couldn’t just start “doing” yoga to truly benefit. Great reading and understanding from the basics to in depth. Giving opportunity to make choice(s) of benefits for the individual.
    Thanks for the site and information. Thank you for giving me this path. Now I can begin my own journey and see where it takes me

  4. karuna421 Avatar
    karuna421

    After reading my dear friend’s comments, i decided to become a premium member to feel the benefit myself. thank you

  5. stewaspe000 Avatar
    stewaspe000

    I’m a freshman in college and I have learned a lot from this site. I’m really enjoying yoga! Thanks!

  6. harmens Avatar
    harmens

    Very useful information, now my chances to become a yogi are increased. thanks a lot.:D

  7. taborgirl Avatar
    taborgirl

    I’ve just started within the last week and just found your site today. How have I never found it before? I will definitely be bookmarking this site.

  8. Karina Avatar
    Karina

    Thank you very much for this site! I am at the very beginning with yoga, this really helps me with the poses.

  9. fredkwabs Avatar
    fredkwabs

    Am new to Yoga and my MAIN reason to get involved is that, i want to cure my stammering once and for all so i want you to give me the APPROPRIATE postures to follow, i have read enough about it but am still not clear. I would be very greatful in anyone should help me.

  10. grammy1952 Avatar
    grammy1952

    I have had knee replacement and can’t bend or get down easily

  11. ayhaines Avatar
    ayhaines

    I have not started any yoga yet but i am 45 years old and i don’t like the way my body feels…it was suggested to me to take up yoga. I am checking out your site for the first time today. LOTS of info..I love it..very thorough.

  12. upendo123 Avatar
    upendo123

    I’ m very much interested to start yoga as soon as possible as I don’t like the way I feel and from the information from this site I’m sure it will be of a big help for my change
    Thanks.

  13. glorp719 Avatar
    glorp719

    Should poses be repeated during a session? If so, what is a beneficial number of repetitions per pose?

  14. shericah Avatar
    shericah

    ive been inconsistently doing yoga for about 5 months now.And just recently after buying a couple of yoga magazines,I’ve wanted to make yoga apart of my life.Therefore,instead of just following along with yoga instructors on DVD I wanted to create my own yoga routine.Hence, I needed to know a lot more information.This site is helping tremendously with my development into becoming a yogi. Thanks!

  15. Timothy Avatar
    Timothy

    glorp719 – Poses do not need to be repeated during a session. Some styles of yoga do repeat them from two to several times. There is no rule about how many times you should repeat a pose.

    shericah – I’m glad to hear the site is helping you deepen your practice. Keep up the good work!

  16. Siddharth Avatar
    Siddharth

    I wish to start with some asanas and pranayam. I have gone through the beginners asanas for whole body and neck. I have also zeroed upon kapalbhati and ujjyai pranayam. Could you guide me as to whether there is any order in which I should begin my asanas and pranayam, as in, which one should follow the other one.

    Dhanyavaad!

  17. Timothy Avatar
    Timothy

    Siddharth – You can do asanas and pranayam in any order. I’d recommend starting with energizing pranayamas like kapalbhati and ending with more calming breathing practices or ending with yoga.

  18. valencia Avatar
    valencia

    is there like a certain age to begin practicing or is it for all ages?
    thank you for answering

  19. Timothy Burgin Avatar
    Timothy Burgin

    valencia – There is no set minimum age, but I would say that when a child feels ready to play sports then he/she should be able to also to start practicing yoga.

  20. Kim Cinnamon Avatar
    Kim Cinnamon

    I have degenerate bone disease in my L5 and 6.. I am 40 years old and still work and lead a healthy life.. Would yoga be good for me??

    1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
      Timothy Burgin

      Hi Kim, you need to ask your MD or physical therapist if yoga would be good for you. If they say yes you would probably need to modify forward and backbends to keep your low back in a flat neutral position.

  21. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    Looks like I’m late in this conversation. Oddly, I want to try this type of yoga specifically because I have always had so many hangups about my body. I’m thinking of gong to a class next month… not gonna lie, scared like heck, but I think if I can build confidence with nude around others that are nude, I can build it in my day to day life.

  22. Maximilian Avatar
    Maximilian

    Hey, thank you so much for the information. It has opened my eyes even further to becoming more calm, positive and pure being. I’ve been inspired from my friend in September and now I’ve decided to start practicing yoga, then meditation. I’ve done some research on some spiritual aspects of life and also subscribe to Kino’s youtube channel. She’s really inspiring and my aim is to reach her level and higher.

  23. Nadi Avatar
    Nadi

    I absolutely love the “how to start a yoga practice” portion of this website. I am new to practicing and I found these step extremely informative and easy to comprehend. I especially love the hyperlinks and photos that lead to other relevant topics touched on in this topic. I definitely bookmarked this site for reference to use in my yoga journey.

    1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
      Timothy Burgin

      I’m happy you are finding the info on the website helpful Nadi!

  24. mikec clarks Avatar
    mikec clarks

    Thanks for the steps to start yoga. I will surely follow the tips you have mentioned. I have newly joined the yoga classes at Sohyaa. However it seems difficult to pose every steps but i know it makes some time to follow it in routine.

  25. Sunflower Retreats Avatar
    Sunflower Retreats

    Great article. I love the first tip, as it is often the most overlooked in the Yoga world, and yet it is so important.

    I would also recommend beginners to perform the plank pose. It’s a great way to improve wrist, arm, and core strength, whilst being easy to perform correctly.

  26. sakshi Avatar
    sakshi

    may i please know if practising yoga should be restricted for morning hours and not evening?

    1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
      Timothy Burgin

      You can practice anytime on an empty stomach.

  27. sumen Avatar
    sumen

    i am 20 year old and i have shoulder problem.my shoulder pain started when i was 12 year old. please give me some tips for pain relief.

  28. InPassing Avatar
    InPassing

    FYI — the link to ‘General Practice Guidelines’ doesn’t link there; it instead links to Dirga pranayama

    1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
      Timothy Burgin

      Oops! Thanks for catching that error. It is now corrected and links to the correct page.

  29. Hosting Avatar
    Hosting

    The more you practice, the better you ll get at assessing how you feel, so when you first come to the mat, you can choose a practice that counterbalances whatever s going on mentally, physically, and emotionally.

  30. Tina Anderson Avatar
    Tina Anderson

    This pretty much makes a great introduction to yoga. In your opinion, how long should a single session last? What’s the optimal duration to get the best results without stressing your body too much? Thanks in advance!

    1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
      Timothy Burgin

      It depends on one’s level of experience but for beginners I’d recommend shorter and more frequent sessions, 30-60 minutes long, and for a total of 3-4 hours (spread over several days) per week.

  31. Kamat Kashi Avatar
    Kamat Kashi

    Hey hey! Thanks for the info on how to get started with yoga. This was super helpful!

  32. Ewald Wanston Avatar
    Ewald Wanston

    I cannot get enough of these great tips on yoga! I love YogaBasics…please keep adding more great articles!

  33. Pete Piermarini Avatar
    Pete Piermarini

    Informative. Thanks for this info on starting yoga.

  34. Samatha Grizzell Avatar
    Samatha Grizzell

    Great piece of content. I’m a newbie but I’m excited to get started with yoga!

  35. John Fraiser Avatar
    John Fraiser

    I cannot go a day without my cbd salve, especially after my yoga workout.

  36. Brandi Misaka Avatar
    Brandi Misaka

    Thanks for this interesting article, I really enjoyed learning about How to Start a Yoga Practice .I like this site very much so much great info .

  37. Alyssa Rose Avatar
    Alyssa Rose

    This is an awesome article on how to start a yoga practice. I have been practicing yoga for almost two years now but I am not sure what I should do next. I would like to know more about different types of yoga classes and where I could find them. Also, I would like to know what are some good books or websites that teach beginners about yoga.

  38. Noah Avatar
    Noah

    This guide was so helpful in getting me started with yoga! I’m so thankful for this informative and step-by-step approach. It made the process of beginning a practice so much easier.

  39. Wendy Browe Avatar
    Wendy Browe

    I love how this article is broken down into easy to understand steps. it’s given me the courage to start my yoga journey–I’m excited to start my yoga practice now!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Timothy Burgin Avatar
About the author
Timothy Burgin is a Kripalu & Pranakriya trained yoga instructor living and teaching in Asheville, NC. Timothy has studied and taught many styles of yoga and has completed a 500-hour Advanced Pranakriya Yoga training. Timothy has been serving as the Executive Director of YogaBasics.com since 2000. He has authored two yoga books and has written over 500 articles on the practice and philosophy of yoga. Timothy is also the creator of Japa Mala Beads and has been designing and importing mala beads since 2004.
Yoga Basics