I have been slowly learning postures for a week. Unfortunately I do not have time to visit with a teacher. I have been picking postures I can do and incorporating them into sequences. I try to add something different as soon as I am confident I have properly excuted the previous "new" pose.

My Questions

1) I am very unbalanced. What is the best way to learn to stand on one foot.

2) I am very unflexible. Should I be doing poses to the degree of my flexibility, or should I attempt poses that require a higher degree of flexibility to challenge myself?

Dear DW_Geoff,

The best way to improve your balance is to practice balancing poses. Work with some of the seated balancings first and then move up to the standing balancing poses. When practicing the standing balancings, stand next to a wall and use it for a support. Also, practice grounding standing poses, such as Mountain, Five Pointed Star, Goddess Squat, Warrior II, Chair.

If you are very unflexible, I would suggest using poses that you can relax into. Pushing and pulling yourself into a challenging pose will only create more tension and thus will not improve flexibility. Practice poses that you can hold for over 1 minute and focus on slow deep breathing and conscious relaxation.