4: Yoga
- Page ID
- 131170
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One of my favorite aspects of teaching this course with students is the element of surprise. In its original form, students attend this course without any knowledge of what their weekly wellness experience will include. Sometimes they try and guess what is planned for the following week based on our meeting location or what materials/attire are required. Once, after reminding students to wear comfortable athletic clothing and bring a towel or mat, a student exclaimed with apprehension, “We’re not doing yoga, are we? Because I can’t do yoga.” This comment brought me back to my college years and my first experience with yoga. After a particularly stressful week, I attended a free yoga class at the fitness center hoping for a calming experience. Instead, I spent most of the hour tangled in frustration, twisting my body into seemingly impossible poses while trying to quiet my mind and focus on my breath. It didn’t feel relaxing, and it didn’t feel like meaningful exercise. After that solitary exasperated attempt, I decided yoga was not for me.
A decade later, as a health care provider who was struggling with anxiety and burnout, I began searching for a form of exercise that could bring healing to both my mind and body. In my search, I couldn’t ignore the overwhelming evidence for yoga as a remedy for mental and physical exhaustion. Just related to how yoga increases health and wellness for health care workers, I discovered a study that found that an 8-week yoga intervention for nurses led to significantly higher rates of self-care and a decrease in levels of emotional exhaustion (Alexander et al., 2015). Similarly, a 4-week yoga and mindfulness intervention among health care workers demonstrated significantly lower rates of anxiety (La Torre et al., 2020). And the benefits of yoga are not limited to mental health and well-being. For further evidence about the transformative power of yoga for managing stress, pain, chronic disease, and sleep problems (to name a few!), read this article from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (2020).
If you are considering taking the leap and trying yoga as a wellness technique (and I hope you are!), you might be thinking, "What exactly is yoga?” While it’s widely known that yoga got its start as a spiritual practice in ancient India, yoga as it is practiced in the United States combines physical postures with meditation and breathing techniques (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2023). The primary goal of yoga is difficult to define, but has been described as the release of inner conflict and the achievement of a quiet mind or inner peace (Chowdhury, n.d.).
Another key aspect of yoga is its connection with the divine. While yoga’s historical roots are in Buddhism, the practice itself can be approached from a Christian perspective. For believers, yoga can be a time of prayer, reflection, and worship. It is an opportunity to focus our minds on God while caring for the body He created. In this way, yoga does not have to be a religious departure from Christianity—it can be a physical and spiritual discipline that draws us closer to God.
By this point, you may have guessed that I decided to give yoga another chance and this time around, I stuck with it. For beginners, here are some tips that I use in my own practice and shared with my anxious student during that first yoga session:
- Yoga feels different for every person. Listen to your body and mind. If you’re not ready or able to strike a certain pose, modify, and do what you can. Quieting your thoughts and connecting your mind and body is more important than pushing your physical limit.
- Allow yourself the gift of vulnerability. In the rush of daily life, pausing to focus on your inner thoughts can feel uncomfortable or intimidating. Yoga offers a safe space to slow down, check in with yourself, and work through the stressors you carry.
- Keep an open mind and do not limit yourself. Remember the student who was once terrified to try yoga? By the end of this wellness course, her final reflection revealed that yoga had become the primary self-care strategy she used to manage her stress throughout the busy semester. She planned to continue to use it moving forward. Maybe that will be your story too?
Activity
Before beginning yoga, it is important to note that mindful breathing during the physical movements of yoga is essential to this experience. The module on breathwork provides a strong foundation for yoga practice and many of the principles of breathwork are used throughout this exercise. For this reason, it is suggested that the module on breathwork be completed or revisited before engaging with yoga. For added practice on breathing during yoga, refer to the video entitled "Focal Points for Breathing in Yoga" located under the section on Alternatives/Variations.
Please note that if you have any concerns about your own physical activity, consult with your healthcare provider.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Incorporating yoga into your routine promotes wellness. (Photo by Yan Krukau from Pexels.)
Materials Suggested
- Comfortable, breathable clothing is suggested, but not required.
- Bare feet
- Towel, exercise mat, or yoga mat
- Open floor space large enough to accommodate the size of your yoga mat
- Small throw pillow or a small, folded blanket
Note: These materials are optional, but may be helpful for beginners or those with limited flexibility to achieve postures or stretches with comfort. - Water
- Video or written instructions to guide your practice
- Open mind that is prepared to try something new
Directions
- Prepare your space: Gather suggested materials, limit distractions (silence your phone from outside interruptions and turn off notifications), and choose a quiet environment. This type of setting is ideal to focus on thoughts, breath, and movement.
- Choose a resource: Select one of the suggested videos or articles about beginner yoga practice listed below and follow along. You may also choose your own video. Just search YouTube for "beginner yoga" videos that are around 20-30 minutes in length. If it feels too challenging, don’t hesitate to try another video that feels like the right fit for you.
- Engage in yoga: Try it out!
- Reflect on the experience: Note how you feel before and after each session, paying attention to your mood as well as the energy of your body. For additional insight, record your heart rate and respiratory rate before and after each session.
Video \(\PageIndex{1}\): Yoga For Complete Beginners. ("Yoga For Complete Beginners - 20 Minute Home Yoga Workout" by Yoga With Adriene from YouTube.)
Video \(\PageIndex{2}\): Yoga For Anxiety. ("Yoga For Anxiety - 20 Minute Practice - Yoga With Adriene" by Yoga With Adriene from YouTube.)
Video \(\PageIndex{3}\): Yoga For Relaxation. ("20 Min Seated Yoga Flow for Deep Relaxation & Stress Relief | The Perfect Evening Practice!" by Move with Shaunneka from YouTube.)
The Beginner’s Guide to Home Yoga Practice: As the title suggests, this beginner’s guide from Yoga International offers tips that include setting an intention for your yoga practice and incorporating 8 yoga poses (with accompanying directions and images) into an easy 10-minute session.
8 Best Yoga Poses for Beginners: This article from Yoga Journal catalogs beginner yoga poses with detailed “How to” instructions.
Alternatives/Variations
Video \(\PageIndex{4}\): Breathing in Yoga. ("Focal Points for Breathing in Yoga" by Antara Yoga from YouTube.)
Remember that yoga is a unique wellness technique because it intentionally aims to unite the mind, body, and spirit. It is challenging to achieve this type of connection with only one session. For this reason, setting a goal to practice yoga for three or four sessions this week allows the body to gain some muscle memory in the movements while making space for the mind and spirit to participate in the yoga practice.
Reflection Questions:
1. Describe any changes you noticed in the following areas when doing yoga this week:
Emotional, Environmental, Intellectual, Occupational, Physical, Social, and/or Spiritual
2. What benefits did you feel with yoga exercises?
3. What, if any, barriers did you experience using yoga?
4. Do you have any additional thoughts and/or future plans for yoga?
5. What are your current stressors and do you have a wellness goal for this week?
References
Alexander, G. K., Rollins, K., Walker, D., Wong, L., & Pennings, J. (2015). Yoga for self-care and burnout prevention among nurses. Workplace Health & Safety, 63(10), 462–470. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079915596102
Chowdhury, R. R. (n.d.). Dealing with conflict: A yogic perspective. Art of Living Retreat Center. https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/blog/dealing-with-conflict-a-yogic-perspective/
Hanley, K. (2025). The beginner’s guide to home yoga practice. Yoga International. https://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-beginners-guide-to-home-yoga-practice/?srsltid=AfmBOoogYKaFexNe-sXr2PSSYK0Tt7Yzh4L98mtMFEOsVKatkeWYIEKc
Houseworth, K. (2024, October 11). 8 best yoga poses for beginners. Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/beginners/yoga-poses-for-beginners/
La Torre, G., Raffone, A., Peruzzo, M., Calabrese, L., Cocchiara, R. A., D'Egidio, V., Leggieri, P. F., Dorelli, B., Zaffina, S., Mannocci, A., & Yomin Collaborative Group. (2020). Yoga and mindfulness as a tool for influencing affectivity, anxiety, mental health, and stress among healthcare workers: Results of a single-arm clinical trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(4), Article 1037. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041037
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2020, February). Yoga for health: What the science says. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/yoga-for-health-science
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2023, August). Yoga: Effectiveness and safety. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-effectiveness-and-safety