Relaxation-proper yoga practice starts with relaxation. The poses are not intended to hurt you but to teach you how to relax while in what seems to be a stressful position. Before you even begin to learn the poses, you should learn to focus your breathing and relax your mind. Some of the introductory poses, such as "the corpse" are specifically designed to help you learn to relax. No matter what type of yoga you are doing or how advanced your class, you should always focus on relaxation.

Exercise-besides relaxation, yoga is meant to help you exercise your body. The exercises are specific and created to help you work all parts of your body. Through yoga, you will increase flexibility, strength, and stamina. You will also find that your balance and coordination improve. There are internal benefits, like improved circulation and improved immunity, that you will not see but you will still appreciate. To make sure you get all of the benefit from your exercises, focus on each movement and the proper breathing techniques that are associated with each one.

Breathing-Pranayama is the type of yoga that focuses on breathing. By consciously regulating your breathing, you will increase your energy level while reducing your stress. There are other benefits of controlled breathing including lowering your blood pressure and your heart rate. Your circulatory system is designed around respiration. The reason that the heart pumps the way it does is to deliver oxygen to the brain and other organs. By making your oxygen intake more efficient, you will reduce the work of your heart. Yoga breathing exercises will help you to focus on breathing rhythm, inhalation, exhalation, and retention.

Diet- yoga is not just the exercises that you do three times a week at your yoga class. The true practice of yoga includes your lifestyle, particularly your diet. Yoga was developed in India where the standard diet still consists mainly of grains and spices. In the west, yoga is associated with natural foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins. As you begin to practice yoga, you will discover that you are more in tune with your body. As you learn to listen to your body, you will learn to listen to the nutritional needs of your body.

Meditation-yoga is traditionally a system of meditation more than it is a type of exercise. The main goal of meditation is to make your mind "still" so that you can focus deeply on yourself. As you practice meditation, you will find that you learn to achieve mental clarity. What's more, as you learn to achieve this mental clarity, you will learn to enter a meditative state at any time, your concentration will improve and so will your ability to listen to your own body. There are plenty of meditation exercises. Find the ones that resonate with you and practice those techniques. You may soon want to expand to more difficult techniques as your ability to meditate improves.