Some love the idea of practicing yoga alone, while others love to practice yoga in a group. Whether you practice yoga alone or with firends, the whole idea is to get maximum benefits of it. However, those who practice yoga in a group get benefited by others in a group in several ways.
While we speak about the benefits of practicing yoga in a group, we do not at all disparage a home practice. In fact, serious practitioners prefer a daily personal practice. This post in particular is about the benefits that one can achieve by practicing yoga together with others.
Here are the benefits of yoga in a group:
1. Yoga in a group solves starting trouble
First things first, starting anything in life is a task. However, we decide so many things but only half of them are achieved. And yoga is one amongst them. We all need some level of encouragement and support to start yoga. Yoga in a group is the best way to give it a kick start.
2. Yoga in a group provides motivation
Another benefit of doing yoga with a group is the level of motivation one gets while doing practicing in a group is beyond words. We all start yoga classes or any physical activity with a goal, like: to lose weight, to have a perfect body, to have a healthy body, etc. More often than not, beginners distract from their goals easily or start getting bored with the same routine doing alone. But practicing together and seeing others achieving desired results, makes it easy for one to feel motivated about his/her goals and the outcomes.
3. It increases confidence
Yoga involves a lot of stretching and twisting; some yoga poses can be tough or may be a little complicated for beginners. To come with ease with all the yoga poses takes time! Sometimes beginners lose confidence when they are not able to perform those poses properly. But performing yoga with a group helps people develop confidence. Of course, when they see others also managing to perform those poses, they feel confident on not being able to do a particular pose.
4. It can a develop sense of competition
When one practices yoga with a group, he/she starts to develop a sense of competition to achieve more and better. Yeah, seeing others performing better on a daily basis helps develop a sense of competition in one that encourage the person to perform more. For instance, in the beginning one can only perform 3-5 rounds of Surya Namaskara, but gradually with practice one can take it up to 50 rounds even more. When you see others in a group doing more rounds of any yoga pose(s), the desire to compete comes automatically.
5. Yoga in a group provides synergy
Yoga in a group provides the perfect opportunity to work together towards a common goal. When you perform yoga in a group you don’t usually feel bored. Since it’s a group activity, you get to meet new people who can help you keep going. Also, group yoga becomes fun activity, as boredom is eliminated completely by being surrounded by people with similar goals. In fact, it is an excellent way to help others with their practice and push yourself in yours! For instance, if you want to perform a headstand, and there’s another person in a group who also has the same goal, then it’s the perfect way to work together.
6. Yoga in a group provides energy
The energy shared between everyone in a group is beyond words. Whether you all work on a new pose together or meditate in a group, the energy that you get in a group is immeasurable. Also, you can use the group energy to help propel your own practice and push yourself further.
7. Group Yoga helps in sustaining the interest
Starting yoga can relatively be easier than sustaining it while doing it alone. However, practicing yoga in a group helps you sustain the interest and maintain regularity and consistency. Of course, when you practice in a group you are consistent in your practice and training. Moreover, it makes it easier to show up to class, even when you don’t feel like going because there are other people who expect you there.
8. Yoga in a group gives you reason for some time away
Practicing yoga at home, besides being wonderful and rewarding, can be full of boredom. Group yoga however, gives you a wonderful opportunity to move out of your house and break the mundanities of everyday life, especially when you work from home or you don’t work at all.
9. Practicing together promotes faster learning from peers
When you learn in a group you learn faster from peers. Yeah, people in a group help you learn poses that are complicated for you, or you can help others to achieve their goals. So it’s a win-win situation for everybody in the group. In a group you not only do your practice, but, you tend to do it with greater intensity. This goes a long way to help you integrate yoga and meditation into your lifestyle and help you have perseverance for daily spiritual practices.
10. Yoga in a group helps come out of their introversion
Practicing group yoga gives an amazing opportunity to those who are introverts by nature. As everybody in the group shares the common goal, which makes it easier for shy people to come out of their introversion and comfort zone
11. Practicing with Others helps you maintain regularity
When you practice yoga in a group, you are bound to follow a time-table or a fixed schedule. Maintaining regularity and discipline can be difficult when you do it alone. However, practicing group yoga helps you learn discipline and be regular.
12. Yoga in a group help you share resources
Music, books, DVDs, etc. are all valuable resources for your yoga practice, and you can require all these anytime for your reference. And practicing yoga in a group allows you share these resources with each other.
13. It helps you make friends with like-minded people
One of the most important benefits of group yoga is to make friends with like-minded people. More often than not, this impacts your social life and people you associate with to a great extent. And the best thing is – it happens naturally when you are in a group. In group yoga you have an advantage to befriend and share your life with those who live at a similar wavelength as you. Usually, in a group you and your fellow member have a similar value system that gravitates towards wholesome, and holistic living.
14. Yoga in a group help you learn from each other’s experiences
Last, but most certainly not least, yoga in a group helps you learn from each other’s experiences. Often when we practice together, we get opportunities to share our experiences. These experiences which one goes through can be really helpful to other people in a group. This way people in a group get benefited from each other’s experiences. Moreover, people can discuss amongst themselves their experiences and thoughts on various poses, types of yoga, meditation, living a spiritual life etc. So, practicing yoga in a group is a great way to learn from each other’s knowledge and make progress on the spiritual path as well.
To conclude……
These are the benefits which you can get by practicing yoga in a group. So, don’t wait much just find out a yoga group or classes nearby and start taking all these advantages.