Help with beginner progression

Hello! I’ve been practicing my yoga on this site on and off for a few years now and I haven’t quite progressed much. I know it could be from practicing on and off/ not enough, and i know yoga takes time. I am currently still a beginner, but I know poses well, but my strength has not progressed much and my flexibility is still not the greatest.
I’m just looking for some insight on how I can make sure I am progressing and getting enough out of a practice so i can soon move into intermediate classes. I want to build more strength and I’m not sure which classes to do, and how often, or if i should be doing something outside of my practices to help gain strength and flexibility.

Also, some feed back for the site? On the Peek Poses page, can you make some more beginner ones? Maybe that is what i need !

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How about some cross training? That might help. I am finding that this time around with the yoga I am feeling stronger already and I think it is because I do aquafit 2X/week also.

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I agree that you may need something more challenging in the Beginners section of what’s on offer, especially in the ‘freebie’ list of beginner classes. I cannot practive yoga as regularly as I would like, so it’s a challenge to progress. My problem is the more I practice, the more flexible I become but Im not gaining strength. However Rod Stewart’s classes are fantastic for beginners ready to advance & build strength. David’s too, though I am disappointed that he seems to have removed some of his classes from the Beginners’ freebie list. Tracey Noseworthy also offers excellent clases, but not for intermediates or beginners, sadly. She could be greatly inspiring for beginners. There does however need to be more, lenghthier, classes for beginners on that list I keep mentioning 'cos current offerings are too short & tend to focus only on specific areas of the body, rather than offering more sitting, standing, twists, balances, warriors, triangles, bridges, etc. It’s rather difficult to explain but there are too many classes less than 40 mins long. Just as you get going, the class ends.

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I’d like to jump in here if that’s ok.

First, progression in yoga happens through a consistent, dedicated practice. If you aren’t practicing at least 2-3 times per week then you won’t see a lot of progress. Think of yoga as affecting your life as a whole. Integrating the concepts into every moment of your life helps you feel its effects on your whole being as you grow, become for connected to your body and learn to let go of things that you don’t need to hold on to. The asanas, of course, matter as well for the strength and flexibility, but never forget that this is a practice for your whole being.

Have you tried any of Rachel Scott’s classes? She has quite a few more challenging beginner hatha yoga classes that are fantastic. She is very skilled in her clear guidance and alignment cues.

@Michellerene234, can you tell me which free classes of mine were removed? We didn’t remove or change any of my free classes, so I may be able to help you locate them. Thank you, as well, for feedback on available classes for beginners. Do you want to ask me for some suggestions? We have a lot of classes, so I may be able to direct you to some that you haven’t tried.

Our Beginner Yoga for Strength and Flexibility program might be a great place to start. It’s a well-balanced mix of gentle and challenging. Speaking of challenging, Anastasia also has a lot of challenging beginner classes, and some of them are full-length.

Let me know if any of you have other questions or suggestions.

All the best,

David

Hi David,
Thanks for your reply. I’ve been away caring for a relative after a small op.
I know you would prefer a web reference for your classes I think have been removed & if I locate that in my search engine history, I’ll try to forward to you. It will be difficult to know which class/es I’m talking about otherwise. But for the present, I can describe the one class I was using as having been filmed outdoors in park-like surroundings aiming at a full body work-out for beginner/intermediates, or so it seemed to me♡.

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Thanks. Unfortunately that’s not enough to go on. We have many videos filmed in an environment similar to the one you described.

Hello David, I’m a beginner and have been doing classes daily with a mix of yours, Jeff Lichty and Ron Stewart. I also find the classes are not long enough so have been doing 2 or 3 different classes each day, mixing them up, that ok?
Thank you for such a great intro to yoga. Gillian

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Sorry for the delay in replying, Gillian.

Absolutely! It’s fine if you do two classes on the same day, in fact it could be great for your body. Your measuring stick will be how your body is feeling - if it’s sore, you did too much and you’ll want to perhaps take a rest day or do less. Does that make sense?

David