Ironically, the answer to the two questions "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?, and "How do I achieve Salvation?" are both the same - "Practice, Practice, Practice!" Or "Tapas".
The philosophy of yoga suggests that through repetitive activity, tapas, we can transform the very nature of our conditioning (accumulated traumas from the past) into pure energy that can be re-directed into other areas of our lives that move us towards Universality and Self Actualization.
Similarly through regular practice of yoga asanas we can remove the conditioning of our mind and body and move from the impossible to the possible (everyone can do a headstand in the middle of the room!)
Over the years I have found a very simple formula for establishing regularity in my yoga asana practice. The elements include (i) finding a studio that is conveniently located to your place of work or home that you can afford; (ii) identifying two or three teachers that you like who teach in the time slots that you can set aside for your practice; and (iii) showing up for class!
I like early morning yoga classes because I can practice on an empty stomach, before breakfast but after a bowel movement. I usually drink a glass of lukewarm or room temperature water half an hour before my yoga class.
The physical practice of yoga through breath "prana" and postures "asanas" awakens your body energy. The reason they say that you should not drink water during your practice is because it is the equivalent of dousing embers with water - putting out a fire even before it gets started.
Even though the yoga studio provides mats, I take my own (the mat builds psychic energy). I wear comfortable knee length or three quarter length yoga pants, a tank top with built in support, and a camisole. I started wearing the camisole underneath the tank top so that I could stop worrying about my breasts popping out every time I got into a twisted seated pose or a down dog!
It is important to dress comfortably, tie your hair into a pony tail, to empty your bladder etc before class because the whole idea of a yoga practice is not to be distracted but to bring your attention to the present moment and connect your mind and body through your breath. Sage Patanjali says Yoga is the cessation of the mental turnings of the mind "Yoga citta vritti nirodha"
Every studio is different and each teacher has his/her own style. However, I recommend where ever possible to set up your mat facing East for a morning practice (the sun rises in the East) and start your practice with your teacher by chanting OM three times.
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