I have been doing yoga on and off for about a year now but I still consider myself a beginner because I am a runner and I do NOT have a yoga-type body.
Being in college, I really don't have the time or money to go to yoga classes and I was wondering if anyone knew of a really good book that talks about yoga for beginners and helps with breathing, balancing mind-body-soul...
Maybe a better bet would be getting a yoga dvd? Some good ones I've heard of are Shiva Rea and Rodney Yee.
Rodney yee is amazing! I know it's a lot of money to drop in college, but you can get the begginers pack on gaiam.com for i think like 75 dollars, and it will last you a very long time. It takes a while to cultivate the flexibility and muscles to do a lot of the poses, especially if it's not an every day thing.
There are also a lot of yoga videos on YouTube. They're usually quite short, but at least you can get a feeling for someone's teaching style and decide if you want to plunk down money for the dvd. I like Tara Stiles, personally.
I hear ya about time, but if ever you do think you can fit even one class into your schedule once every week or two, I do highly recommend it to supplement whatever book or video you do find! I've found more than once that I'll be in a pose and I think I'm nailing it then my instructor will come over and adjust me to the proper position and it feels SO different.
But look around, there are cheaper classes out there. I can't justify spending $15-20 per class at a studio but a couple of the city facilities where I live (and your city might too) offer yoga classes at a drop in rate of like $5 or check out the facilities at your college, they probably have drop in classes that might be included in your fees already or for cheaper.
Jessica,
Go to Itunes right now and download as many podcast episodes of Yogamazing as you feel. Each episode is short (20 to 30 minutes) and focused on an area. Many of the episodes are geared towards all audiences (some especially for beginners) and are nice for breathing. Just avoid any of the episodes that say "flow" - might be too much, too soon.
Jessica,
Go to yogajournal.com and sign up for their daily or weekly emails which include yoga classes.
Hi Jessica,
If you're in NY, Berkeley, San Francisco, or Seatle, Yoga to the People might be a good class option. (I agree that even if you practice at home most of the time, it can improve your practice to get to a class when you can.)
Their classes are donation-based, so you can pay whatever you feel like you can afford to attend:
http://www.yogatothepeople.com/
Julie