8 Things Experts Wish You Knew About Yoga

1. it’s not all about flexibility.

Despite what your Instagram feed might suggest, yoga isn’t all about being a human pretzel. In fact, focusing only on flexibility could lead to injury and even undermine your athletic performance.

2. Don’t give up after the first class.

While all yoga may look similar on the surface, they’re not all the same. From Ashtanga to Bikram to Vinyasa to Iyengar, each type of yoga has its own flavor.

3. Work on your foundation.

Just like you wouldn’t run a marathon without a solid base (we hope!), you should focus on fundamental yoga postures at the start of your yoga journey.

4. You will be confused.

Starting yoga can be overwhelming. You may feel awkward moving through unfamiliar shapes and with teachers literally speaking a different language (that’s Sanskrit, FYI!), it’s easy to feel lost.

5. Don’t write off gentle yoga classes.

It’s easy to assume these classes will be slow and snooze-worthy. But whether you are a new to yoga or an advance yogi, you can benefit from the quiet and relaxation that a slower-moving style offers. “Gentle classes are not boring!” says Rountree.

6. Look for Online Fitness benefits beyond the mat.

“I wish I had known yoga’s power to quell anger and rash decisions. It would have seriously helped my road rage that I used to get driving in New Jersey!” says Kathryn Budig, uber popular yoga teacher and author of Aim True (out March 2016). It’s true, yoga will not only stretch your mind but also help strength your mental focus. “[Yoga has] taught me to step back and observe instead of responding with rash reactions and decisions. It’s given me perspective,” says Budig

7. You’ll need a mat that works for you.

While technically, all you need is a mat to practice yoga, it’s worth your while to find the right mat. “I started out practicing in power vinyasa classes and I would get sweaty, which would make things incredibly slippery,” says Jake Ferree aka Trainer Jake on Instagram. “Once I found a mat where I was not slipping all over the place, my practice become so much more grounded both physically and mentally.” Ferree’s favorite mats? Lululemon and Liforme.

8. Don’t use yoga as an escape.

It’s tempting. You’re stressed and you want to find some peace so you roll out your mat to zone out. But not so fast, says Colorado-based instructor Amy Ippoliti. “Yoga is not an escape. You’re not here to escape the difficulties and intensity of the world,” says Ippoliti, “You’re here to engage, embrace and receive all that the world is offering you. And yoga will teach you to do that skillfully,” Instead, yoga will help you tune into the world around you.

[Source: http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/yoga-expert-advice/]

Setting Fitness Goals

Maintain Momentum

Chances are good that at least once a year — in January, perhaps? — you vow to commit to an exercise program. If you've had some trouble with the follow-through, you're certainly in good company. Yet there are so many compelling reasons to make the commitment again and stick with it. Everyone has a different reason for losing momentum. The bottom line is that if getting fit is important to you, you can do it in less time than it takes to watch the nightly news. In fact, you can do it while you watch the news. If you follow the recommendations of organizations such as the American Council on Exercise and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), what you need to improve your heart health (and reduce your risk of all kinds of other diseases) is a total of 150 minutes of exercise per week or 30 minutes three times a week. You can break it down however you want.

Set a SMART Goal

In Online fitness parlance, a SMART goal is one that is Specific, Measurable, and Attainable, and it’s one that you can Reward yourself for meeting as long as you meet it within a certain Time.

Meeting goals is satisfying, and fitness experts say it helps build momentum. Just pay close attention to the "attainable" part of this equation because an unrealistic goal only sets you up to fail. Instead of challenging yourself to exercise daily for 30 minutes when on some days you can’t even get in 15, look at your schedule, and find two days that you can realistically boost your workout time to 30 minutes. It all adds up to get you toward your goal of 150 for the week.

Vow to Take More Steps Every Day

For nearly a decade, public health experts at the CDC have urged Americans to take 10,000 steps every day. But we're falling short. A typical American woman takes just 5,210 steps a day, and a man takes around 7,000. Incidentally, the 10,000 mark comes out to about five miles a day, and people who walk that much are considered "active." Those who get in 12,500 steps a day are "highly active."

Movement Matters

Even if weight loss isn’t your goal, you should still aim to increase your daily mileage to maintain general health.

In a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers asked healthy young men to significantly reduce the number of steps they took each day (dropping from an average of 6,203 to 1,344 steps a day). Within two weeks, the subjects' insulin levels rose by nearly 60 percent — putting them at risk for diabetes — and their amounts of abdominal fat increased by 7 percent even though they hadn’t gained any overall weight.

[Source: http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/setting-fitness-goals#4]