A beginner yoga question…hmm…

What I have observed is that people love being categorized, be put in a coveted space. I, for example, love being called a classic bibliophile while I mostly read either on my laptop or on my tab. Hypocritical, I know. But that’s how our brains are designed. I love being addressed that way.

Likewise, beginner yogis lust to be called advanced. Almost desperately. As if being an advanced yogi is one hell of an achievement (only if there could be a medallion to brag about that).

Anyway in that process they ask a dumb question — How do I know when to transition from beginner to intermediate, and then, to advanced poses?

How-to-transition is okay. But advanced poses??

Hello there! There are NO beginner or advanced poses!

It’s a dumb question to ask, which often gets even dumber answers.

Nevertheless, I’m not gonna criticize you, for you have just begun with it. Only grateful that you asked that question.

Fortunately, I was introduced to yoga at a very young age and I have grown up doing Ashtanga yoga every morning. Hence, I understand what yoga is.

Yoga is science.

And what do you need when you are dealing with science? Logic, born out of common sense.

So, transitioning from “beginner to intermediate” title (not poses) is pure common sense. After reading this article, you'll realize why.

Now allow me to introduce you to the dumb answers this question gets.

Answer no.1 —

The beginner yoga class is of 6 months. After that you move into the intermediate class.

Why I think this is dumb — Yoga is a process. It has steps, but no check points or milestones. So, no time frame can explain you your level of practice. It is not about speed, and all about growth.

For every new pose, you are a beginner. Once you master it, you master it. Simple!

Now the question is, how to know which should be my next pose?

Read this first:

A fellow student once told me, “If you can do 50 Surya Namaskars in one go, consider yourself an intermediate.” To my surprise, my teacher affirmed to his statement.

50 Surya Namaskars in one go — Give me one good reason why I should ditch focusing my mind on my movement and my breath, and put my body under an endless torture?

Clearly, I did not pay any heed to his words.

Almost a decade later, I still can not do 50 Surya Namaskars in one go, while I can easily lift my leg up and balance in a Dancer’s pose, which is “supposedly” an advanced yoga pose. I still face difficulty balancing up my lower body in a Peacock pose, although falling back in a wheel pose and coming up comes fairly easy to me.

Now since I told you what poses I can get into and what not, can you guess my “yogi level”?

This brings me to the next dumb answer.

Answer no.2 —

It’s all about strength and flexibility (the time for which you can hold a pose or number of times you can do it without exhausting).

Ridiculous!

Like any intelligent person, now even you can see why this is dumb — Everyone has their own fitness level!

When yoga’s foundation was laid, it was more of a personal practice, and its still very much that way. Only your body gets to decide your level.

Like I mentioned above, for every new pose, you are a beginner. Once you master it, you master it. And move on to next.

So, when is the time to move on? And to what specific pose should I move on

Here comes in — The science of yoga and its poses

What we find over internet is that, while one teacher would call Downward dog position a beginner pose, there would be another calling it an intermediate. Clearly, there is no set rule to categorize them.

Note: I still maintain that there are no beginner or advanced yoga poses. But beyond this point, I'm gonna refer to them so for your better understanding.

There are two unsaid rules that I follow (and the reason why I do):

Rule no.1 —

Arm balances are invariably “intermediate”. No one should do them as a beginner. Why?

Out of all our body parts, our upper limbs (or arms) are the weakest in terms of strength. This is especially true for women. So, raising your buttock in a crane position in first week of your yoga class will do you no good except for making you hate yoga for the next few days, if not for life.

Then what are the beginner poses?

Seated ones. Reclining ones. And ones that do not require you to balance on one feet. Not all of them though.

How can I tell which ones are exceptions? Good question!

This is where the game gets interesting.

Rule no.2 —

Look for the number of functions each pose serves.

Each yoga pose serves one or more of these five basic functions — stretch, strengthen, relax, balance, and focus.

Beginner yoga poses serve one function, intermediates serve two, while the advanced poses may serve three or more.

That’s it!

I think you need an example here. So, let’s talk about a commonly searched pose, the Forward bend pose and its variation.

As the name says, in this pose you bend forward and try to touch your feet. You do not bend your knees or curl your back. You just try touching your forehead to your knees while sitting and bending forward.

It is basically a stretching pose which affects the whole back side of the body.

One purpose — Hence, it becomes a “beginner” level pose.

But, when it is performed standing, along with stretching, it teaches your mind a better sense of balance. The game gets a little difficult.

Two purposes — Therefore, the standing version now becomes an “intermediate” level pose.

One pose — two levels — Do you get the science now?

If you're still with me, then Kudos to you! You are about to learn something that'll make you wiser than anybody else.

This time we'll discuss Dancer’s pose, where you balance your weight on one leg, bend the other upwards with the help of one hand. And as you do so, you stretch your other arm towards the sky.

This pose has stretching, balancing, strengthening and focusing all at once. C’mon tell me what should be its level?

Damn right! It’s an advanced pose.

The question still remains — how to transition, isn't it?!

So here is the answer: Use logic, common sense.

If one day you want to balance a perfect Natarajasana,

Begin by conquering stretching poses, then move on to stretching and balancing ones. Choose poses that suit your current fitness level. Understand the difference between pain and discomfort. Stretch only till point of a mild tension. Exploit different variations of each pose, from easy to tough, and work your way up.

Gradually, you'll build up strength and confidence to mimic the Lord of dancers pose.

In the end, whatever route you take, just do not try to attempt 50 Sun Salutations in one go. That’s plain stupidity in action.

Listen to your body. Feed it well. And keep coming back for more insights to learn Ashtanga Yoga better.

P.S. — Hope you're feeling wiser than with what you started. So, as a token of appreciation, would you mind sharing this wisdom with your peers?