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Alice Vol. 3 No. 2

Published by UA Student Media in Spring 2018.

Published by UA Student Media in Spring 2018.

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Mats can be as basic or as complex as<br />

you want, and they can be under $20<br />

or upward of $50, depending on the<br />

brand or thickness of the mat. The<br />

final decision is up to you and your<br />

budget.<br />

Next, you will need yoga<br />

appropriate clothes. Don’t think you<br />

have to buy name brand yoga pants or<br />

tops. Yoga really only requires clothes<br />

you can move and feel comfortable in.<br />

Whether that means a baggy t-shirt or<br />

a slim tank top, yoga is about making<br />

you feel good, so wear what you feel<br />

most comfortable and agile in.<br />

Last, have a towel and some water<br />

handy– yoga does get sweaty!<br />

Types of Yoga<br />

Decide what type of yoga you<br />

want to do. There are many options,<br />

but there are three types of yoga that<br />

are most popular: hot yoga, ashtanga<br />

yoga, and vinyasa yoga.<br />

Hot yoga has become popular<br />

recently because it is a useful way<br />

to sweat out impurities. In hot yoga<br />

studios the air is usually set to around<br />

93 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.<br />

Ashtanga, similar to teachings of<br />

ancient yoga, uses specific sequences<br />

of posture. It is appealing because<br />

every time you will do the same poses<br />

in the same order. This can help your<br />

yoga practice become muscle memory<br />

and more of a stress reliever.<br />

Lastly, vinyasa yoga is a Sanskrit<br />

word meaning “to place in a special<br />

way.” Vinyasa is similar to Ashtanga<br />

in that it has the same poses in the<br />

same order. What makes it different<br />

is that it is slower and more flowy,<br />

allowing you to pay more attention to<br />

your breathing.<br />

Besides these three, there are<br />

tons of other kinds of yoga you can<br />

experiment with.<br />

You can also practice yoga in<br />

different settings. Yoga can be done<br />

anywhere, but most people either<br />

choose to do classes at a gym or<br />

studio, join a group in a nearby park,<br />

or just practice it alone at home.<br />

Breathing<br />

Before starting to practice yoga, it<br />

is important to understand breathing.<br />

Gail Connell states that breathing is<br />

the most important part of yoga.<br />

To practice correct breathing,<br />

breathe in and completely fill your<br />

chest. Once the chest is filled to<br />

maximum capacity, completely<br />

exhale through the nose. This is one<br />

of the most basic types of breathing,<br />

although there are many others.<br />

Because it is the most basic type of<br />

breathing, it is a good beginning<br />

breath for those wanting to start yoga.<br />

Poses<br />

After having learned a little bit about<br />

yoga, we can now look at some poses!<br />

These are some of the most basic<br />

poses. They can assist beginners in<br />

their first few yoga sessions.<br />

Cobra<br />

Child’s pose<br />

Downward dog<br />

Warrior<br />

Triangle pose<br />

Photos by Emily Heath

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