International Yoga Day 2026
It has been 12-13 years since we celebrated Yoga Day, but Yoga has been a part of Indian culture since the Vedic period. International yoga guru Dr. Malvika Bajpai says that yoga asanas are the third part of yoga practice. There are 8 parts in yoga. In which there are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. After practicing Yogasanas, the third part of Yoga, it is very important for us to do Pranayam. Yoga Guru has also told how you should do asanas in the beginning. How can you keep the rhythm of your breathing correct?
Yoga Guru has cleared many confusions related to yoga practice so that if you also want to adopt yoga in your routine, then you do not face any kind of problem. So let us know how beginners can start practicing yoga and take it forward and include it in their routine.
Make up your mind for yoga
Yoga guru Dr. Malvika Bajpayee says that we meet many people who practice very difficult yoga asanas every day and seeing them, the thought comes in our mind that how we can do these asanas. The first thing is that if we talk about yoga, then we have to first decide that it has to be done in the daily routine. For example, suppose we have to practice yoga at seven in the morning, then we should prepare for it the night before. Like eating food on time and sleeping so that you can wake up on time in the morning.
Start with Ushapana
Yoga guru says that when you wake up in the morning on the next day, start the day with Ushapana. This is a process done before doing Yogasana, in which we drink water slowly while sitting in squatting or Utkatasana. This water helps in removing the toxins present in our body.
Starting with light activities
After Ushapana Kriya, we have to do some light activities like Tadasana, Triyak Tadasana, and Kati Chakrasana. After doing these activities for 5 minutes, we prepare the body for yoga. For this, it is necessary for the body to be internally clean, for which we should perform our daily activities (excreta and urine).
Image: Pexels
Start with subtle yogasanas
After completing the daily routine, start practicing your asanas with the yoga mat. Yoga guru says that subtle yogasanas have great importance in yoga. Gradually start practicing yogasanas and for this, first you should do subtle yogasanas. Many times people wonder what benefit these micro yoga asanas will provide, but believe me, in my 12 years of yoga career, I have understood that micro exercises are as important as food and water. Understand that if you do micro exercises, they reset the blood circulation system in our body. And also reset our nervous system. Experts say that our body gets older every day and signs of aging start appearing, micro exercises gradually help in reducing our aging or can we say helpful in graceful ageing.
Do micro yoga like this
First of all, move the toes of the hands. After this, do the movement of the wrists and then the movement of the shoulders, neck (slowly moving it back and forth and rotating it left and right). After doing the movement of the upper body, we will move the part above the waist, but do not rotate your waist 360 degrees. Beginners just do it in the form of 180-180. Now move the knees, this will strengthen the muscles here. Then do ankle movements, then toe movements. In this way your micro yoga will be completed. Similarly, eye exercises are also very important. In fact, when the temperature of the eyes increases, the vision becomes weak and glasses are soon required. If we do eye exercises i.e. eye movements daily, our vision power will be very good.
Practice with simple yogasanas
After practicing micro yogasanas, you have to start practicing main yogasanas. Yoga guru Malvika Bajpai says that spine problems are more common in today’s time. Instead of bending our body completely, we keep our hands above and bend them up to 90 degrees, then the flexibility of our body will increase, toxins will not accumulate, blood circulation will be good and back related problems will get rid of them, as well as the gluteus maximus muscle will become stronger. Knees will become strong and stability will also increase.
In the next stage, activities like Tadasana have to be done. Tadasana increases concentration. Along with this, you should practice some balancing poses in the beginning like doing Vrikshasana, but pay attention that your paw is not stiff. If this happens then you will not be able to balance properly. If there is stiffness then massage for 5-6 days. With this you will start balancing properly. After this, do some sitting exercises like Marjari Asana. This is a yoga asana which everyone can do. Just keep in mind that if you have a problem of cervical pain, do not bend your neck too much inwards.
How to maintain correct breathing rhythm?
Doctor Malvika Bajpai says that along with yogasanas, we also have to pay attention to breathing. Many times people do not know how to control their breathing in the beginning. Understand this that in the activities in which you open your hands completely, you have to inhale completely and if you bring your hands down, you have to exhale. If you bend forward, you have to exhale and if you move the body backward, you have to inhale. If you do these activities in this way, the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation remains correct.
Do yoga comfortably
In the beginning, the asanas have to be done in a very flowing and at the same time very relaxed manner and keep the breathing correct. Similarly, you have to slowly return from your seats. Just keep in mind that do not try to force the body. Experts say that it is very important for us to do a twisting asana, in which the practice of Vakrasana is simple and it also prepares our body for advanced asanas. In this way you can start yoga.
