by Lillith Black

Created on: October 31, 2009   Last Updated: November 03, 2009

Yoga is often thought of as out-of-reach for many people, but actually it is a great workout that anyone can do, regardless of fitness level. Yoga is a self-centered practice. When you go through a yoga class, you aren't competing or having to keep up with the other people in the class; you compete only with yourself.

Your back is the most important collection of joints, muscles and bones in your body, and keeping those muscles flexible not only allows you to have better posture, but it will help you keep from being injured. Yoga is wonderful for people with back problems, and will help people without back problems to stay that way! Flexible muscles are healthy ones, and not only will you recover from injury faster if you are flexible, but you aren't as likely to get injured in the first place!

Yoga helps with stress relief and relaxation. Everybody has stress in their lives. Yoga can relieve it, and teach you to deal with it in positive ways! It helps you to build a positive attitude that is wonderful for your mind and your spirit. You will leave your yoga practice feeling both energized and relaxed..

Yoga is a great workout. It focuses on the core of your body, and allows you to build strength in all parts of your body. It increases muscle tone, and the more strength-based styles of yoga are very physically challenging! The combination of strength, balance and flexibility that yoga is centered around will help with joint health as well as posture!

You need to like your instructor's voice. They talk throughout class, and they are responsible for making sure that you are aligned properly. Early on you'll need an instructor who interacts with you to make sure you're doing things like you should be. As you progress, you need to make sure that they are better at yoga than you are so you can keep learning. Convenience is important too. As sad as it sounds, just like with any workout, if it isn't convenient, most of us won't go for very long.

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