Best Yoga Classes For Begineers

Back in the olden time (can you tell I am a little, shall we say... dramatic?), back when the world had just survived a shift into a new millenium, the question of what a beginner to yoga should do was not an issue in the slightest. The system employed by most studios was simply that before any regular classes could be attended, the would be yogi needed to first complete a beginners course.

In January 2001, when I began my daily practice, I was asked to attend a total of 16 weeks of beginners course, one class per week, before I was able to attend anything else at the studio. A lot was covered in this time! Really all the basic principles we need to really progress in our yogic life; breath, bandha, what the eyes should be up to, the whole point of yoga, basic alignments, and a gradual build-up of intensity in the actual physical practices.

These days, this model is rarely, if ever, seen in public studios. The reason is mostly to do with the culture these days, where the average person does not wish to commit to something so intense and wide-ranging, and would prefer to simply drop in whenever they can and wish.

However, this has left us all in a bit of a pickle. What does the actual beginner do? Which classes should they attend? Which should be avoided?

Here at The Path we did try beginners classes, but essentially this involved the poor teacher sitting there, waiting for one person to turn up late, already a little drunk and injured from a surf accident that morning. In other words, it really wasn't workable to keep on the schedule.

However, I am convinced that we don't absolutely need a beginners class! We just need to dive into the water with kind, knowledgeable, patient teachers, in classes that are not assuming any previous knowledge, classes that are not so fast that the beginner has a hard time staying with the process.

We at The Path pride ourselves at being very inclusive. All are welcome, and we all love working with beginners! It means no bad habits are already in place. ;-) In fact the only classes to avoid are anything that has the word Power in it, and the two little characters L2.

I would strongly recommend Hatha for all beginners, not because it's in any way easier than anything else! Simply because the pace is a little slower, making it easier to get to grips with all the details many practitioners take for granted, these classes are very approachable and will give you a full experience of what yoga is, how powerful and beautiful the work is, and how wonderful it can feel upon completion. We do have numerous Hatha classes per week.

All our Sunrise classes are also excellent. They are shorter, and are typically attended by a wide range of practitioners of all levels of experience. If you are daunted by a full 90 min class, these 0715 am classes Monday to Thursday are an excellent way to leap into the yogic waters.

Yin-yasa is my final recommendation for classes especially suited for beginners to try. This practice is a blend of active physical practice and passive, soft, releasing stretches. Makes it all very approachable when we know that there is only so much intensity we have ahead of us!

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to know more or have further questions.

Our class schedule can be found here and a detailed class explanation can be found here

In the meantime, I wish you all an excellent foray into the magical world of yoga!

With love,

Bernd.