How much is enough?

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice 21st April 2012

Inside Yoga 52 (21/4/2012)

Here’s a short answer to a common question: a little every day makes the difference – and it is better than a lot on rare occasions.

The question: how much yoga should I practice?

I often get asked this: and it is a valid question. I am usually asked this because the person has discovered how much yoga helps them – in many ways – and know that attending classes might not be enough.

And it is not. Though attending classes is a good idea – besides keeping me in business – it helps the student learn how to practice and improve their own practice. The adjustments given by a teacher in a class are much more effective than trying to work it out on your own, from a book or video (the video cannot see what you are doing whether it’s right or wrong!).

And above all self-practice is the effective way of deepening our understanding of the practice in terms of its mechanics, but also because it helps us to understand more about ourselves. Self-practice is an opportunity to look inward, and using yoga asanas as a metaphor, we can see our patterns… and ideally learn how to improve ourselves.

So you are at home and want to practice? “How do I start and how much do I do?”

Start with a little every morning – before breakfast – and before going out for the day. Make it a regular part of your day and after some time, it will feel perfectly natural to practice every day.

How much? Try a few stretches, simple ones, and then add downward/upward facing dog (doing a few of them to warm up) is a good idea.

And if that is all the time you have…. it is a good start to the day.

If you get more time, add more postures for more exercise… it’s a good idea to fit in a mix of standing/seated forward bends/hip openers/twists/back bends and if you are experienced enough a shoulder stand or similar inversions.

When time is short, one from each category is adequate. This way you will feel complete and ready at the end for the day ahead.

If you have more time, add more to each category… and that is how a regular practice develops… it is like learning a language – we start with a few basic words and after a while we use more. Similarly, build up your knowledge of postures through a regular practice and the classes are there to help you build up this knowledge.

If you have a little bit of time at the end, sit and meditate to finish off even if it is just a minute. This addition will help to digest and assimilate the benefits of the practice. And feel good inside.

And that is all you have to do…. remember this is a practice.



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