A common misconception to those not immersed in the yoga bubble is that you have to be flexible to practice yoga. Keeping up with a healthy lifestyle is incredibly important and yoga can be practiced at any age whether you have a limited range of motion or are the most flexible person on Earth. The typical yoga that you see in photos or on the cover of Yoga Journal is not where you start a yoga practice.
Each pose you see has a modification to enable a beginner to ease into each “asana” or posture. Many people stay in the modified pose indefinitely and gain the very same benefits someone in the full expression of the pose achieve. Yoga helps with alignment and a continued practice can improve posture among other aches and pains within the body. Yoga seemed to start as the fashionable thing to do and in time has become a staple of many communities, with often the smallest of towns having a studio you can practice at.
Most studios offer a free week trial and if you aren’t comfortable going to a studio there are many options for an at home practice with videos or the new Gaiam TV. The biggest thing in starting a yoga journey is understanding that the goal is not to push yourself but rather to learn yourself and how your body moves and reacts. Not all postures are for everybody. We are our own worst critics and learning to be gentle on ourselves will help us to grow in overall wellness. With anything in life it does not happen overnight it’s a process. If you want to find a studio near you go to Yoga Finder.