Building a Personal Practice : how to bring more Yoga into your life

‘Yoga is the Practice of paying attention’ - Bonnie Weeks

Yoga is an everyday practice. It can be very different for everyone. To some it is a physical practise, to others a daily meditation or pranayama practice. Others view the actions of every day as their yoga practice, so the choices they make and the way they view the world. I think everyone should try to incorporate all three into their daily practice.

‘Yoga every Damn Day’

Does practise need to be #everydamnday? It depends how you see self-practise. I personally believe that doing the ashtanga primary series everyday will cause injury, just like lifting the heaviest weight you can in the gym every day will cause injury. If you force a strong practice every day, then you could cause too much stress on your body and ligaments. But as I said before, physical practice is one of many parts of yoga.

So let me be clear, the three things, Asana (physical practice), Pranayama (breathwork) and dhyana (meditation) are just three of the eight limbs of Yoga that Patanjuli lays out in the sutras. The problem is, I think, that there is so much focus on the physical side, that we forget the subtlety of living with kindness and creating joy in our life and the lives of others. This is clearly what he explains in the Yamas.

Yamas are the laws of life, and really the first root of the yoga lifestyle, that helps you be the best version of yourself. They teach you to be kind and without kindness for others and yourself, you are missing out on a huge, expansive part of yogic life.

My biggest tip for those starting an at home practice is to plan it into your week. Start small, 10 minutes of movement, 5 minutes of breathwork and 5 minutes of meditation. So, you are only bringing in 20 minutes of very active practice into your day. Start with 1 day a week, move on to 2 and see where it takes you.

The other side of Yoga is changing your mindset about living and shifting your perspective to bring a way of living that is kind and follows a set of morals that sit best with you. This can sometimes be even harder than bringing in the movements and the meditation, but if you are not showing kindness, gratitude and love, you are only experiencing a part of what yoga can offer.

Be Smart. Set Goals.

This may be very corporate, but writing your goals out, somewhat like SMART goals is actually a really good way to achieve obtainable goals. 

Specific - Be really clear on the goals you have in mind. For example, have a physical goal like to stay in a headstand for thirty seconds.

Measurable – What can be measured? Well, length in the posture is obvious for a physical goal, but it also works for meditation and pranayama. Building the habit of doing those things may also be the goal. Then you work up the amount of time you take doing them.

Attainable - You need to have a plan, and so I go back to this idea of booking yourself in for your personal practice. Put the phone on airplane mode and make that time with you and the mat, even if it is to sit for just three minutes in silence.

Relevant - I mean, ‘Is this realistic?’ If your goal is to headstand in six months’ time and you have never done yoga, should this be your primary goal? Maybe focus on getting to a beginners’ class, and trying some of the dynamic stretches at home, as well as in class. Or if you are not a beginner, but you have learnt inversions in class, maybe go to a workshop to find out more.

Finally, Time - six months to do something you have never attempted before could be an unachievable goal. Make this more attainable. Six months to achieve a headstand may be hard, but a year may be more reasonable. Whereas, building your meditation practice to be fifteen minutes could be built up in three months, by adding a minute each week. 

Some goals maybe looser, for example spiritual goals cannot be on a timeline. That would be like saying, “In a year's time, I would like to be enlightened.” But maybe what you prioritize in your practice could shift. If a spiritual practice is something you are shifting towards, you could bring more meditative movement into your practice, or flow in silence more to focus on the breath. Also, going to more ceremonies and group circles could also be prioritised.  It is so important to remember, that you cannot complete this journey alone. Community is at the centre of Yoga.

Hit every movement pattern

If we are focusing on the physical side of practice - which I know a lot of people do, especially at the beginning of their journey - it is important to focus on diversity of movement, to use both dynamic and static movements.  Dynamic movements are the ones, you are moving in and out of and static means being still. Try and keep all the deep, long stretches towards the end of your movement flows.

We also need to include a range of movements throughout the body: standing, sitting, folding and back bending. There is also twisting and side bending.  They all have benefits, and it is important to incorporate them in your practice throughout the week, similar to hitting muscle groups, which is also something to consider. This variety means that you are going to lower the chances of getting injured or overworking parts of your body.

In addition to the types of movements, try bringing in movements for your legs, and movements that focus on the upper body. Yoga is a full body experience, so it should not be too hard. Nevertheless, we want to make sure you are working on your standing balances and your arm balances, because crow pose is a lot harder to balance, when you don’t know the simple techniques for balances on our feet. Maybe arm balances are not where we should be focusing.  I do break down the types of movements in our content, but if you want the basic understanding of each movement pattern, let me know.

Make a Plan

Write out a plan. Your teacher didn’t start teaching without some sort of plan, so why should you build your practice with no plan. Learn the different movement patterns and look at how you come in and out of them. Breaking them down, can be the best thing for your physical practice. Also, exploring these movements can help you find your favourites. 

Experiencing yoga with a teacher is always going to be the best way to learn what you want in your plan and what you enjoy most.  You will also be able to experience different types of practice and whether they fit your own body anatomy or not.

Finally, I would say have a look at what others share online, it does not have to be a complicated flow, but if you are most interested in creating flows, see what others are doing.   You may find ways of movement that inspire you to practise more at home.

Your Sanctuary will provide.

My last piece of advice is to make an environment that you find inviting and that gets you on the mat. That may mean lighting a candle or diffusing essential oils. If you have a space room, make space for your mat to always be out and ready for you to practise. I personally find, have a candle ready to light and clearing the space that I practise in makes my mat more welcoming.

I hope my suggestions help to give you ideas to improve your personal practice.

The light in me sees the light in you xx