No one can tell you exactly how long it’d take you to get good at yoga. While there are factors to keep in mind, you’ll simply know it when it happens. You’ll feel it. This is so because being good at something is intrinsically linked to how you perform, feel, behave, and perceive things. The art of becoming good at yoga isn’t any different.
Below, we share our take on it in greater detail. Make sure to stick with us till the end, as we cover some useful yoga-related information in our FAQ section.
Without any ado, let’s get into it!
What Does It Take to Get Good at Yoga?
First and foremost, everything depends on you remaining committed to growth, paying attention to your breath, practicing mindfulness, not rushing, staying in good health, and, perhaps most importantly, doing the yoga poses properly. However, you’ll also need to understand your body’s needs, be patient, and practice compassion.
If you want to get good at yoga, another prerequisite is that you pay attention to the lifestyle you have. For instance, if you’re out of shape, eat junk food often, aren’t really flexible, and so on, it’ll take you more time to get good at yoga.
On the other hand, if you’ve been leading a more-or-less healthy lifestyle and consider yourself devoted to your overall well-being (both physical and mental), you’re much closer to being great at yoga than if you hadn’t done any of these things.
Yoga as a Process & Experience
However, it’s worth noting that regardless of what category you belong to, getting good at yoga isn’t something that happens overnight or after a fixed number of days, weeks, or months. It’s a process in which you grow — the person who just started practicing yoga isn’t the same person after doing yoga for some time.
This person has expanded their consciousness levels, united their mind, body, and soul, changed some bad habits, built some new ones, practiced healthy eating, and so on.
Through this process, you’re also meant to become happier, shinier, and emotionally stable. The better you become at yoga, the less you’ll feel grumpy, frustrated, disappointed, and so on. This is just as important as getting in shape, feeling more flexible, and perhaps losing some weight.
In general, getting good at yoga is an experience that blends your physical life and your emotional one. It strives to put them in balance. Once you achieve that balance, you’ll wonder how you’ve functioned so far.
Put simply, once you get great at yoga, you can’t undo it. It will always be within you. Of course, you need to continue nurturing it, but once you feel what it means to be confident in a challenging pose, use a yoga strap, or feel your body change for the better, you’ll do everything in your power to keep things that way.
Some Food for Thought…
We always like to encourage our readers to think in a much more ambitious manner and transcend ongoing opinions and trends. Therefore, discussing how to get good at yoga can be turned into something more powerful such as, “How long does it take to master yoga?”
Also, the focus can be on other things, not just how long it takes to achieve this “yoga mastery,” for instance, but rather what we can do to become great at yoga.
With that said, we also understand that time matters, and when it comes to yoga and similar activities, the only way we can measure results is through the passing of time. That’s why we included a couple of such questions in the FAQ section.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Long Does It Take to Become Flexible With Yoga?
Once you start doing yoga, you’ll likely see some improvement in your flexibility levels within the first 3-6 weeks of practice if you’re consistent. After the first 3-5 months, you should observe much greater improvement.
With that said, getting flexible with yoga depends on several factors, such as age, body shape, fitness levels, determination, and so on. Flexibility isn’t an exact science because, some days, you’ll be able to do everything perfectly, and then the next day, you may struggle to do even the most basic poses.
So, how long does it take to become flexible with yoga? Well, it takes as long as it takes.
How Long Does It Take to See Results From Yoga?
Like with any exercise program, yoga generally takes at least two months to convey significant results. However, if you’re consistent and are able to commit at least three days a week to practice, you may see faster improvements. The first development you’ll notice will be that of your flexibility.
While it’s more than likely that you’ll also eventually develop muscle, stamina, and overall core strength, you shouldn’t expect such serious results at the beginning. This is something that’s built over some time. How long it will take you to get there also depends on your previous fitness level, lifestyle, diet, etc.
In short, don’t expect to see results just from doing yoga. While yoga is amazing both for your body and spirit, it isn’t magical. You have to adopt a healthy lifestyle to see the results you’re probably aspiring for.
How Many Times Per Week Should I Do Yoga?
This depends on why you’re doing yoga in the first place. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you just testing the waters?
- Do you have back pain and you’re trying to find a way to relieve it?
- Or perhaps you want to become a yoga instructor in the future?
On average, it’s recommended that you do yoga two to three times per week.
However, if you’re just testing the waters, you might be more interested in what it means to do yoga rather than paying attention to the number of weekly sessions you engage in.
Then, if you’re dealing with some back pain or some sort of injury, you might need to consult a professional first. After that, you can develop a more personalized approach to your weekly sessions that works for you. You might need two or three yoga sessions, but perhaps your back pain or injury may or may not allow for more.
If you’re looking to become a yoga instructor, once again, be more focused on doing yoga at first rather than increasing the number of times you engage in it on a weekly basis. That being said, if you feel you’ve “mastered” yoga and are confident in your abilities, in this scenario, it’s okay to do yoga as often as your body allows you to. After all, it might just end up being a career.
While building a yoga routine is great, remember to listen to your body at all times. Sometimes, you might practice yoga every day just for 20 or 30 minutes; other times, you might engage in longer one-hour sessions three or four times in the week. There’s no hard and fast rule.
Parting Words
All in all, giving a straight answer to the question of “How long does it take to get good at yoga?” is much more complex than what you may have initially anticipated.
However, we managed to cover all the bases. Keep in mind that “the idea of ‘mastering’ a skill when you’re just getting started is counterproductive: it can be a significant barrier to exploring a new skill in the first place.”
In other words, if you’re just starting out, allow yourself to enjoy the experience without putting any yoga timelines and deadlines upon yourself. So, sit back, fasten your yoga strap, and enjoy the absolutely unpredictable and fulfilling ride!
