Before you start, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor, especially if you any pre-existing illness, or some specific conditions (such as high blood pressure, glaucoma, or pregnancy.) When you start yoga, don’t push too hard; learning yoga is a long-term process. Also remember that the simplest yoga, just sitting and focusing on your breathing, can be the most beneficial.
Find a Free Class
If possible, try to take at least one in-person class. You can ask the teacher questions, and get personal instruction to make sure you are doing it right. Here are some ways to find a free yoga class:
- Google Maps Head over to Google Maps, and type in “Free Yoga” for your town, for example: “Free Yoga Pittsburgh”, or “Free Yoga Denver”. Unless you live in a very rural area, there should be several local yoga studios or community groups that offer the first yoga class for free. When you find a place, call for details, but it is very common to simply attend the free class - no need to sign up for more classes.
Yoga Month This promotion offers new students a free week of yoga at one of 1,500+ yoga studios nationwide during the month of September. The information on participating studios will be available in July, so check back for more details.
- Lululemon A store that sells yoga clothes and exercise gear. They also offer free weekly yoga classes in many of their stores. Check for a store near you.
- Corepower A yoga chain that offers a free week of yoga. Check the lower left of the webpage for locations, print the coupon, and bring it to your first class.
Free Online Yoga Classes
Online yoga is so convenient, and there are some great free yoga options:
- Hulu There are 33 free episodes of Yoga Zone yoga videos on Hulu. Scroll down for the complete list of episodes. You could start with the the hour-long “Introduction to Yoga”, or the shorter “Meditation, Part 1”, or “Stretching for Flexibility, Part 1”. There will be a few commercials, so just sit and breathe through them.
- Yoga Today They offer a free online class each week. These are good if you have been doing yoga for a while, since it’s not guaranteed that the weekly class will be for beginners.
- Yoga Journal They don’t appear to have free videos, but they do have excellent articles on yoga basics, as well as a question and answer column for beginning yoga.
Free Library Yoga Resources
- Your local library will have books on the health benefits of yoga, the history of yoga, the different yoga styles, and how-to guides. Most libraries also let you check-out yoga videos, or meditation audio cds. Check to find your nearest local library.
There are so many free resources are available to help you learn yoga. If you want to take additional classes at a yoga studio or need more detailed instruction, our next article covers ideas on how to find cheap yoga classes.