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Create a Free AccountYoga for Absolute Beginners: Sukhasana and Dandasana
Beginner I
In this class, David shows you how to comfortably sit on the floor in two of yoga's more common seated positions, easy cross-legged (sukhasana) and staff pose (dandasana). He also helps you understand some of the basic yoga principles as you learn how to stretch your body effectively. This class is a part of a 'Yoga for Beginners' series. If you're a beginner who would like to learn more about yoga, check out our Yoga for Beginners page.
Equipment:
- Blankets
- Block
- Bolster
Style:
Comments
Existing Comments
Will I be able to rewatch all of the vidoes when I am done with the course?
Good work for a new year!
It was a great class, I've felt my body and this was the best basic yoga class I've found out on the internet and will continue using it.
Very thorough! I’ve been doing yoga for several months but the way to use props never explained in this detail.
Thank you!
Getting page not found error for link - https://www.doyogawithme.com/beginners-yoga
Still has a broken link. It's referred by the first block at https://www.doyogawithme.com/yoga-beginners
So far so good
Grateful to have had this 1st class. I could really feel my body stretching. I have to remind myself to breath. Namaste.
I got a problem with listening , I am not American or British , I am Vietnamese and I am not really good at English , but I love your way of teaching yoga and I wish you can write the captions for me to read. I am going to register to be a member , however I can't understand all the thing you said. Thank you very much!
P/S : in minute 19:03 , I heard "So I want you to bring your ankle right together and then energise your legs and flex you toes back..."
What is next? And what is it for?
Your English is really great, learning yoga in English must be challenging but also a great way to grow your understanding of the language! The cue at 19:03 is asking you to engage your legs, as you pull your toes back the the front of your legs will engage, your quadriceps, this will help you press the knees down and get more firmly rooted in your hips, your sit bones will root down. You want a solid seady base in this active seated pose.
Hi miss Fiji McAlpine, thanks for your kindness.Your translation, It helped me a lot. I hope if i have any futher problems you can still help me with it.
Thank you.
It was wonderful! Thank you
Thank you so much David for sharing your knowledge, skill and wisdom. Your gift has allowed me to escape the clutches of chronic pain relative to my untreatable bone cancer. While I cannot progress at the recommended pace I am now able to move more freely and am able to live a much more normal life without the use of any pain medications apart from the occasional Tylenol. Couple this with the way that yoga has integrated seamlessly into my spirituality and it is difficult to express my depth of gratitude. You have blessed me profundly. In this mind I say , Namaste, to express my gratitiude and also "the divine within me sees the divine within you". Blessings on your journey.
Very nice. I'm not a beginner but I've been away for a very long time and found that even with beginner videos I couldn't do the poses without strain because of the tightness in my body.. This is more beginner than any beginner thing I've done and it met me where I'm at. Thank you. Also, I love your style of presentation and your honest and compassionate business model. I will be sharing this with everyone I know. Have a wonderful day.
This is the first yoga class I have ever even attempted to take. I really enjoyed it. My body feels amazing after this. I'm very excited to do more classes with you! Thank you!
Hello
I love it.
Best beginner yoga I've ever tried. Did this after working a 12 hr shift as a nurse at a hospital and my back feels so much better and I'm relaxed and ready for bed.
It has been at least three years since I last practiced yoga and even longer since it was an integral part of my self-care routine, so I am starting from square one. I am writing this comment directly after finishing the class and I can tell from how difficult it was to relax into the final pose (my chest felt so heavy and tight and almost painful) that I have a lengthy journey ahead of me. I’m going to repeat this class a few times before moving to the next one. Thank you for helping me to take this first step toward a more balanced life. Namaste.
Thank you so much for doing this! I've watched and tried a variety of 'beginner' yoga videos that did not feel beginner to me at all. This really did the trick and now I feel like I can continue from this point.
I am not in any good flexible abilities, to sit crossed leg was difficult. Knees would not let me stay crossed legged. I know I need to he stretching to get legs to cross sit. The rest I was able, but am concerned that improper sitting defeats other steps of yoga. I felt all the body stretching. Is this still going to work as I work my legs into the cross sit?
Thank you so much. I have done some yoga before but no one taught in detail how to sit. So I am starting with absolute beginner. Is there any way to increase flexibility in my hips? I am very tight and need the 6" side of blocks to hold my knees up in sukhasana!
This lesson, my first, was discouraging. I'm healthy and fit, but not at all flexible. The twists made me wince and groan. In staff pose, I couldn't straighten my legs beyond 90 degrees without rolling back on my sit bones. With straight elbows and interlocked fingers, I couldn't get my arms more than 45 degrees above horizontal. If this is really the most basic beginner lesson available, I wonder whether I'm just not flexible enough to be attempting yoga. What do you suggest? Is there a different "absolute beginner" series for people who aren't flexible? Should I move on the next lesson in this series, or would that risk injury? Give up yoga and try something else instead?
Hi there.
I can understand feeling discouraged - I was there myself when I first started out. I could barely straighten my legs are raise my hands over my head either, due to competitive sports and injuries. She said that I should simply "start where I am at". If you need to bend your knees to keep your back straight, that's what you need to do! The best thing you can do is not feel like you need to look like everyone else. It's simply too discouraging. Let it all go and do what works for your body.
It's ok to move onto the next videos, but I would repeat this one a few times so you can get used to how to adapt your body to the poses. If you can, do a video daily so your body can get used to it. Also, continue to ask questions below the videos so we can help!
Thank you for making these videos. We’re stuck in quarantine, and your beginning classes have helped us stay healthy and positive. How wonderful to have some healing throughout this anxious time.
Thank you for offering these classes and your newsletter. I am so excited to get started on this new journey of self-discovery and the health benefits that come with consistent practice.
Great for me to help others as I go through YTT. David is always great with insructions.
It's amazing. I didn't find this anywhere else! Thanks
Thank you for this class! I'm an absolute beginner and this helped me understand the fundamental positions and how to do them right.
Namaste :)
Amazing site and great informational videos!!! closed captioning would be fantastic for people who are deaf/hearing impaired!!!
Thank you! We've been looking into that but just don't have the resources yet. Hoping to soon!
Agreed. Closed captioning would be awesome.
Hello my name is Dee and I wish to say thank you to all those who make this website possible. It is a wonderful resource to help people help themselves.
I am 41 and have been on a disability pension half my life for mental illness and recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (hooray not fun) and have found out the cause of my back pain finally....Anterior pelvic tilt I was born with.
Anyhow not having that much money to spend on Yoga classes or being able to step out of the house sometimes with extreme anxiety/depression I am soo grateful that I searched and found Do yoga with me I believe with a self commitment I can start to heal myself one class at a time mind, body and spirit. x Dee
Thank you so much! I'm really happy to hear that you're doing well with our classes. You're right, one class at a time with mind, body and spirit!
I'm doing yoga for a few years now and yet I learned so much from this class. So much I didn't know... And we moved through these 'basic' poses so mindfully.. The stretched seemed more profound than I can remember.. A lovely class. Thank you David for sharing this.
I am a nurse and developing a health and fitness routine for myself and decided to include yoga. This is my first time ever experiencing it and I can already see the benefits that yoga can provide. I'm 45 years old and have been feeling muscle and tendon tightness and knew I needed to establish some sort of stretching routine. This first class made me realize I'm more stiff than I thought I was. But I know that all that will a be a thing of the past with yoga. Great class.
I have no known health problems other than being very out of shape and inflexible, though I do have severe anxiety. Everything done in this video except for the laying down at the end was very uncomfortable or even painful for me. My Feet even started falling asleep from the pressure of my legs resting on them. Is this normal because I'm so out of shape and inflexible or might I have been doing it wrong? Could I be very tense and that's making it painful? Thank you.
David mentioned a link would be present below the screen with the class in it to be able to read about Yoga. I did not see a link. Can you explain where I might find it please?
It's there now. Thanks!
Excellent first class. I think I can stick with this and get some great benefits from it.
I'm new and so I'm checking this out. I really liked this first class. I'm going to get my equipment ready, by tomorrow hopefully, and do this class. Today I only watched and listened. You do a great job! Thank you!!!
Thank you for all of the comments everyone. It's great to hear from you.
I have lordosis, or commonly known as 'swayback' and I'm a bit worried about lying on the floor, or trying to sit up and push my lower back forward when my back is already pushed forward by weakened muscles. Any tricks around this?
Hi there. Yes, the trick is to start feeling what correct alignment feels like. In your case, because your pelvis is tilted slightly forward, that will feel like your normal and your hip flexors will be very tight while your hamstrings will be lengthened too much. You will need to work harder to tilt the pelvis back and in effect, lengthen and flatten your lower back. So yes, you're right about not wanting to push your lower back forward. That movement is to avoid slouching. You need to focus more on lengthening your lower back using your abdominal muscles. Does that make sense?
It does, thank you! I did this class two days ago and had ease with leaning forward onto my sitting bones, but now that I know to lean back a bit into it, it should make this a bit more challenging and this will help me make sure my foundation is rock solid before I start moving on in the beginner's series. Thank you so much!
This class was my very first experience with yoga and I came out of it like "It's already over?" I'm working on getting my fitness and diet on track and was very pleased with this introduction. Can't wait to do more! After work I feel drained, but today I'm ready to face the evening! I feel so relaxed! Huge shout out to Every Damn Day Fitness for directing me here!
This class is absolutely perfect for first timers in yoga. The pace is very calm, very soothing as it should be, has mindfulness put into it, the focus on the breathing... Fantastic, thank you.
I would also like to add that I have back problems due to long term exercise in a bad shape, so it was extremely important for me the focus the teacher had on the back curve and position. Will never forget that.
Much love to all of you. Namaste
I'm so grateful to learn yoga first time here.
Thank u so so much!!