Yoga For Beginners: Notes, Stories And First Steps From Flametree

Yoga for beginners: the short version

Walking into your first yoga class can feel like walking into someone else’s party. Yoga for beginners should feel the opposite: clear, careful and welcoming. This page gathers everything Flametree has written for people just starting. Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree. Its step by step teaching suits beginners of any age or fitness.

Yoga for beginners in short form

Choosing a class: what to look for in a studio.
What to expect: real first-class stories.
How often: how many times a week makes it stick.
Online or studio: how LIVE online classes work.
Health funds: claiming yoga on private health insurance.
First class free: for newcomers, plus a half price pass.

This page is one of the topic hubs in Yoga Notes From Flametree.

Why start with a beginner class?

Because the basics carry everything else. Beginner classes teach how to stand, how to use props and how to keep your back safe, one step at a time.

Many of our students started stiff, unfit or unsure. The stories below are theirs.

Chris Lalor in Triangle Pose with her hand on a chair, on rocks at sunset

Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) with a chair for support.

Studio or LIVE online?

Either, or both. Classes are taught LIVE, so the teacher can see and guide you online too. The online set up guide shows what you need.

Chris Lalor in a lunge with her front thigh supported on a chair and arms raised, on a deck by a lagoon

A chair under the front thigh makes Warrior 1 easier to learn.

Start here: the main yoga for beginners articles

These are the owner pages. Each answers one main question in depth.

Beginner stories

Yoga Notes for beginners

More notes are being added. You can also browse every Yoga Note in one list.

Beginner classes

Beginner class options, in the studio or LIVE online.
Four easy steps to set up for online classes.
The beginner timetable.

Try your first class

Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree. New students, and anyone who has been away three months or more, can also get a half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, to use online, in the studio, or both.

See the half price pass

For the studio, check the beginner timetable and just come along. For a LIVE online class, go to our online class list, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join.

Questions about this beginners page

What will I find on the Flametree beginners page?

You will find every Flametree article and Yoga Note on beginners, grouped so you can start with the main articles and then read the shorter notes. Each link goes to one page that answers one question, so you are not reading the same thing twice.

Which Flametree article on beginners should I read first?

Start with the article on how to choose a studio, then the one on how often to come. The beginner stories show what a first class is really like.

Are Flametree’s beginners notes only for people in Darwin?

No. They are written in Darwin, from our teaching at Woolner and Coolalinga, but the first steps apply anywhere, and classes are also taught LIVE online, so you can join from anywhere in Australia.

How often are new beginners notes added?

New Yoga Notes are published in batches of about twenty, and this page is updated each time a note on this topic goes live. Older Flametree blog articles stay linked here too.

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin, at Woolner and Coolalinga, and LIVE online anywhere.

General information only, not medical advice. Talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, before changing what you do.

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