Practicing yoga

For those who have not practiced yoga before, my first recommendation is to try to find a routine that fits in with your daily life. It is better to do a little yoga often than a lot only now and then. You may begin by doing the sun salutations and working with them for some weeks, each or every other morning, or at some other time of day that suits you. After that you can build on the sequence and add movements to it. When all the movements have been performed, this yoga session will take you approximately 30 minutes to complete. Each movement is described in both text and in pictures, with and without modifications. The pictures help you to get it right and to build up to the full movement. Use the modification until you feel comfortable going further. If you do yoga often, three or more times per week, you will be able to drop the modification after approximately two to three months.


For those who are veteran yoga practitioners, this book can be used as a shorter session that you can perform at home daily. My advice to you is to try to make yoga a part of your life, from which you can gather focus, strength, and calm. On those days when you cannot set aside 30 minutes, you can either sit and breathe to yourself for a while or do the sun salutations.
I hope that this book will be able to inspire you to do the movements with greater precision, and that you will find support from the various modifications that are provided.


It is advised to do yoga first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, and with an empty mind. However, it is better to do yoga at some other time of day than not at all. Try to avoid eating approximately two hours before you do yoga. Always listen to your body, and do nothing that feels forced or that causes pain. Each day is new, and your breathing and movements will feel different depending on how you have eaten and slept, and on where you are in your hormonal cycle. Women should avoid doing yoga during the first three days of menstruation as well as avoid upward-and-downward movements. Pregnant women should perform specially adapted pregnant yoga.


Find a warm and quiet place in which to do yoga. You need a yoga mat so as not to slip on the floor or carpet. Use soft, preferably light-fitting clothing that is easy to move around in. In this book, the names of the movements are given in Sanskrit, which is an ancient Indic language, but the words are also found translated into English.