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It's never too late to start yoga. Especially if your "expectations" is to lighten up and release tightness/rigidity, open up the channels, and increase the circulation, energy flows, and conscious aliveness to the organs and cells thus increasing your embodied integrity of breath, mind, and spirit then all will work out well as long as you do not lose that focus/dedication. On the other hand if you become seduced that mastering the asana is the expectation, then you will certainly become lost and with that a danger of self adversity, competition, injury, and force will be encountered.

So it's all about your intent (bhava)-- your approach/attitude. Level two is more challenging in that way, so don't rush it, just like we don't rush life. Figuring out from a transcomnceptual place how to softly and easily do sarvangasana (shoulderstand) or any other posture) will by itself present you with the possibility of en-lightening up (or down), hopefully expanding your awareness to the role of the breath and the prana in all your movements in life.

Similarly, listening to that inner guide and teacher (the intuition refined as inner wisdom) as to how long to hold any pose as long as the prana is circulating, you can not lose. However if the teacher is a nazis and demands that you holding the pose beyond your ability to catch your breath or to a point of strain or pain, then the teacher/teaching is flawed IMO.

Level 2, 3, or 99 depends on the the quality of how it is introduced and our attitude as well as what the attitude of the teacher is. Transformation happens in an open Heart and Mind. Yoga exists as the beauty of exploring that relationship in the human form on this living planet supporting life and its creative/evolutionary expression ..

JAI MA!

Bill
I was responding to your intention and expectations (attitude or stance) in relation to your ASANA class specifically; like what are you trying to achieve in a yoga class in regards to how long you hold a pose and/or what level class you might be taking. It seems to me that the purpose of the classes should be to activate your own inner wisdom. Then you know what asanas to do and how long to hold them. That does take some dedication and focus, but its do-able.

Teachers very greatly, so I always recommend to shop around if you can. I very much think it is very valuable to integrate the breath in the poses and to frame the asanas within the context of energy work just as much as the physical (or even more so).

Yes, I have been teaching yoga since 1972, although of late very infrequently. You could say that I am retired... almost.

Light and Love

Donny