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There are many ways to enjoy a healthy yoga session in a magnificent setting such as a great beach.
Whether your goal is to lose weight, to get toned up or to benefit from the spiritual side of yoga, doing it on the sand and under the sun is a tremendous idea. This approach could help to breather fresh life into your exercise routines too.
When you next consider heading off on beach holidays in Greece or some other lovely place, here are a few points to bear in mind for better yoga sessions each time.
Choose the Right Beach
The choice of beach that you make is the first point that is absolutely critical. For a start, you don’t want to do it on a heavily crowded stretch of sand where you might struggle to find enough space to get into your favorite postures easily.
Finding a quiet beach where you can lose yourself in your yoga session is definitely a great move. In this way, you can enjoy it for as long as you want and also try out some new postures with feeling too self-conscious.
Of course, a beach with a fine natural setting is also perfect for carrying out some yoga sessions. If you do it under a beautiful palm tree or if there are some picturesque mountains in the distance then you might find this to be an inspiring setting in which to work out.
Do It at the Right Time
There are a few points to bear in mind regarding the time of day that you head down to the beach to enjoy some yoga. First of all, you will probably want to avoid mid-day, when the sun is likely to be at its strongest and most potentially damaging.
You will also want to avoid the busiest times of day, when your concentration may be broken by people walking past or playing loud music. It is obviously much better to find a quiet time where you can focus fully on your postures.
If you are an early riser then greeting the rising sun down on the beach in the morning could be perfect. Otherwise, you might prefer to go down to the sand just as the sun is setting for a truly memorable yoga session.
You should also put on your sun screen to protect your skin when practising yoga on the beach during the day. Even if the sun doesn’t feel particularly strong it can still do a lot of damage if you are there for a long time without any sort of protection.
Get Comfortable
You shouldn’t forget the importance of being comfortable before trying out some yoga on the beach. If you are worried about your clothing being too tight, too heavy or too revealing that you aren’t going to be able to make the most of this opportunity.
You might find that the same clothes you normally wear for yoga at home or in a studio works perfectly well on the beach too. Light, natural fabrics work best in hot locations.
You can also forget about the yoga mat, as they don’t work very well on sand. Instead, you should take a beach towel with you and use this to stand or lie on.
Listen to Nature
Those yogi who want to meditate and enjoy the deeper, spiritual side to the activity will love being surrounded by the sounds of nature. Listening to the waves lapping onto the shore and the birds singing in the trees makes any yoga session more enjoyable.
Being outdoors like should allow you to feel a real connection to nature while doing yoga. While carrying out gentle, meditative poses, such as the mountain pose or the child pose, you can close your eyes and allow the fantastic sounds of nature to accompany you.
Pick the Right Postures
Not all yoga postures are as easy on sand as they are on the floor of a studio. For instance, standing poses such as the tree pose can be a lot more difficult to maintain on this undulating, uneven surface.
With standing poses the best move is to dig your feet into the sand a little, in order achieve a better balance and more stable posture. It take a a bit of getting used to but you should eventually find that it is possible to enjoy your favorite standing poses on the beach.
A great aspect to practicing yoga in a beach setting is that the sand is very soft and yielding. This is fantastic news if you usually avoid some tough postures because of the fear of damaging your joints.
You should find that the soft sand and the relaxing setting let you slip more easily into some of the postures that are a perhaps normally a struggle for you. The beach is the perfect place for some of the more relaxing poses but you might also like the fact that you can use it to challenge yourself to reach some of those tougher positions.
Consider Beach Yoga Classes
So far we have looked at the idea of carrying out yoga on the beach as a peaceful, solitary pursuit. There is absolutely no doubt that this is an amazing experience but what if you want to get more out of it by joining a beach session?
By checking online in advance you can see whether there are classes offered in your destination. If there are then you could try this out to see how you like it.
You might find that having an experienced teacher and a group of other yogi around you helps you to get even more out of the session. Of course, there is nothing to stop you then heading out on your own later on to try it in a different way.
No matter how you choose to do it, you will soon discover that practicing yoga on the beach is a fantastically enjoyable and life-affirming experience. Once you try it once you are sure to want to do it again every time you visit the beach.
