The Practice of Yoga—a take home plan for personal practice.

The practice of Yoga is very personal and I have found it to be the  most straightforward method for cultivating a flexible, supple, toned body as well as a quiet mind for lasting tranquility and inspiration. 

The benefits of practicing yoga are extensive including stress relief, pain relief, better breathing, flexibility, increased strength, weight management (kick-starts the metabolism), improved circulation, cardio-vascular conditioning, better alignment, deeper sleep and focus on the present.

Yoga is a way to keep growing and moving, appreciating the ways your body and mind interconnect in marvelous ways. Your body will begin to feel like a graceful and expanding thing, your mind a quiet place. What is a ‘personal practice’ and how do you start one?

Establishing a daily practice is not as daunting as it seems. First establish what you are practicing: Movement with Breath. Then start with the simple rule: pade pade….step by step. Your practice will develop in time, so start out minimally and simply. Start with two minutes a day and work to 20 then 30 and beyond! It has been written that “A little practice every day is very powerful, a lot of practice occasionally makes your muscles sore.”

Step One: choose a time to practice. Stop and think about when it is best for you to practice. When will you be able to close the door? Ignore the phone? Take time for yourself?

Step Two: Say it out loud – “I will set a time to practice and even if it is two minutes. I will do it daily.”

Step Three: Find your spot. Choose a corner, a closet or a room where you can set up a little sacred corner for your mat and you. Post inspirational pictures, set up music if you want music, a dvd player if you intend to follow audio classes.

Step Four: Choose a mat. It will become special to you and the act of rolling out the mat and rolling it up again at the end of practice are like opening and closing rituals to set the tone.  There are dozens to chose from. Some are soft and thick (protective to achy joints but often more difficult for balancing postures), some are sticky, some textured. There are dozens of colors and patterns. We love the Harmony Yoga Mats and the Mayflower Spa  Shop sells two thicknesses. Your mat will become  your special place to practice the art of relaxation known as yoga. Effort will become effortless, the feel of your mat will soon invoke soft eyes, soft tongue.

Remember to be compassionate with yourself. Some days a vigorous vinyasa practice is all that will do and others, sitting with your breath and observing its rhythmic wave is plenty. Once you know the basics, it is enticing and fun to keep going deeper and deeper.

As with all things:  do what you can. Take it seriously but keep it light.

Namaste. lisa