Do you need to be flexible to start yoga?

Social media has done yoga no favours. Scroll for a minute and you will see someone folded in half on a cliff edge, which makes an ordinary stiff person decide the whole thing is not for them. In a real beginner class, the person next to you is far more likely to be an office worker whose fingertips stop somewhere around the knee.

Why stiff people are the point

Yoga is a practice, not a performance. The idea is to move into a shape in a way that suits your body and breathe there for a while. A pose done with bent knees and a block under your hand is still the pose. Teachers worth their mat know this and say so.

Stiffness also makes you a good student in one sense: you cannot fling yourself into a deep stretch, so you naturally move more slowly and pay attention. Those are exactly the habits beginners are encouraged to build.

Choosing a class

Yoga styles vary a lot, and the name on the timetable tells you something about the pace:

• Beginner, foundations or "intro" classes explain the poses and move slowly. Start here.
• Hatha classes are often slower-paced, with time to settle into each pose, though it depends on the teacher.
• Yin or restorative classes hold gentle poses for longer, often with lots of props. Calm, quiet and kind to stiff bodies.
• Vinyasa, flow or power classes link poses together briskly. Fun later; a lot to keep up with on day one.
• Hot yoga happens in a heated room. Some people love it; it is a lot for a first class.

If in doubt, email or phone the studio, say you are new and stiff, and ask which class they suggest. They get this question all the time.

Props are not cheating

Most studios have a stack of props by the wall. Use them freely:

• Blocks bring the floor closer. In standing forward folds or lunges, they mean your hands have somewhere to land.
• Straps extend your arms. Loop one round your foot in a seated forward fold and you can sit up tall instead of hunching.
• Bolsters and blankets support you in seated and lying poses, so you can relax rather than strain.

Experienced practitioners use props all the time. They are tools, not training wheels.

Your first few classes

• Arrive a little early and tell the teacher you are new and fairly stiff. Mention any injuries.
• Set up near the back or the side if you would like to watch others, or near the front if you would like to hear clearly.
• Bend your knees. In almost every forward fold, bent knees are welcome.
• Ignore the person next to you. Everyone's body is different, and the mat is not a race.
• Rest when you need to. Child's pose, kneeling with your forehead down, is always available.

Expect to feel a bit lost the first couple of times. By the third class you will know the names of a few poses and the order of a typical session, and it starts to feel like your own.

Will you get more flexible?

Many people find that regular practice makes poses feel easier over time, but that is not the measure of whether yoga is working. Breathing steadily, being able to sit on the floor without discomfort, feeling calmer at the end of a class: those count. If you are specifically curious about forward bends, our piece on touching your toes looks at that on its own.