This final chapter offers guidance for successfully applying the information of the ten previous steps to your yoga pose practice. Integrating all the information can be overwhelming at first, but please remember to be patient with yourself, enjoy the process, stay connected to your intention for yoga, and take things one step at time. There are varying styles, practices, and guidelines to help you apply this information to your yoga pose practice, and I encourage you to work with your teacher and yoga community.
case study Sally Faces Her Self
After practicing yoga for a few years on her own without instruction from a teacher, Sally came to our studio to practice poses and study yoga philosophy. Studying yoga from a holistic perspective clarified aspects of the practice that she had intuitively considered but did not know how to explain. After a few weeks of exploring yoga in this new way, Sally came to the studio to express how overwhelmed she felt from what she was learning about herself. She shared that her home practice had previously given her peace of mind and the new ideas that she was working with were causing her to feel anxious.
Sally’s experience is not that uncommon. It is uncomfortable to confront our issues, patterns, pains, and fears. Some of them are harder than others to transform. Remember to start at the beginning! As a great Chinese sage once said, “The journey of a lifetime begins with just one step.” You are on a lifelong journey with your practice and there’s no reason to fret about all the things that need attention. You’ll have plenty of time to develop your practice. When you’re just starting out, don’t do anything more complicated than creating an intention to guide your basic yoga pose practice.
Practice One Aspect at a Time
As a student of yoga, focus on learning one new principle at a time. It can be very challenging to take this slower approach; however, it will result in the greatest progress over time. The desire to know all about yoga is real—after all, who wouldn’t want the benefits that follow? To receive yoga’s benefits, you must go one step at a time. Let the joy of discovery be the primary benefit and your journey will be fun as well as rewarding.
If you are new to yoga, you will find that proper physical alignment demands a lot of attention at first. This is normal. You have to learn the appropriate physical actions for each pose, which requires focus and concentration on the teacher’s instructions. As you settle into the pose, come back to your breath and your intention. Having a teacher guide you through poses is invaluable, as he or she can give you helpful feedback that a video or picture book cannot. Follow instructions in class as long as they suit your level of physical fitness, and back off when you need to. A good teacher will offer you pose modifications based on your body type, level of experience, and flexibility.
Keep in mind that you do not have to match the perfect physical form of a pose. You only need to activate the areas of the body that relate to the pose. The key to a simple toe touch is not touching the toes but activating the spine in a forward bend. Your teacher should honor your capabilities in the poses and never suggest that you must be as flexible as a gymnast or contorting yogi. Where you are at in your journey is exactly where you should be; the right teacher challenges you without compromising your safety.
For students at any level, yoga practice can be compared to the building of a stone house. First, you dig the foundation through proper mental alignment. Each new aspect that you learn is a stone that fortifies the shelter of knowledge. A good mason knows two stones cannot be placed at once. Rather, he takes his time carefully setting each stone. In the same way, a beginning student may spend six months to a year just on alignment and breathing before moving on to other practices.
Whatever your level of experience, take one step of the ten-step program at a time. The beauty of this program is that you can adapt it to your level of yoga education. Eventually, you will have memorized the steps and you can build on what you have mastered. Mastering one step at a time will eventually coalesce into a balanced and focused yoga practice. Finally, it’s important to note that we all need to go back to the beginning sometimes. In this way, the journey can be cyclical.
Two Yoga Practices:
Vinyasa and Traditional Hatha Yoga
The historical practice of yoga as recorded in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika outlines each pose as its own program. This means that the student performs one pose at a time and then moves into another pose. There is a slight pause between poses in a traditional Hatha yoga program. This is often the method used for beginners and those who have some physical limits or are advancing in age.
A second form of yoga is a flow (vinyasa) where yoga poses are linked together into one flowing series of movements. While there are many forms of vinyasa, it is typically faster paced and quite energetic. The vinyasa style of yoga often increases body heat and purification
through perspiration.
If you are considering what type of practice will suit your needs, take into account your physical ability and what it is you want to achieve. Do you want to create heat and energy in the body, or do you want to go slow and calm yourself down? Though most people have a preference, one practice does not prohibit the other. You may find that one type of practice suits you well on one day, while you prefer a different style of yoga the next. For most students, it is harder to go slow than it is to go fast. This is no different from martial arts, where the younger practitioners enjoy the fast paced aspects of the arts (similar to the vinyasa flow practice). As the students progress, the master requires them to practice their art in slow motion in order to understand the powerful, subtle aspects of the practice. Whatever your choice, develop a yoga practice that fully addresses the mind, body, and spirit.
It may require some trial and error to discover the best form of yoga poses for your body type. Remember, no form is better than another. Some teachers may feel strongly about the benefits of their particular style of yoga and project that opinion onto you. It is natural for a teacher to believe in their practice, as they have seen it help many people. However, it is most important that you find the style that suits your disposition and needs.
It is true that the more psychological aspects of yoga poses are revealed clearly when the poses are held for longer periods of time. However, this can be challenging for many students whose thoughts are easily distracted, also known as the “monkey mind” or “puppy mind.” When we move slowly, it is easy to daydream or lose concentration. Remind yourself to focus on deeper intentions when you are doing long-held, slow poses.
If you practice the vinyasa style of yoga, I recommend warming up slowly and allowing your mind to sink deeper into the experience. This awakens the spiritual, heart-centered component of yoga and minimizes the ego. When initiated in this way, practice requires less effort and struggle. Flowing movements minimize distractions as you focus on the task at hand. At times, you may wish to slow down even if that means being out of sync with the class. Your teacher should be fine with you following your own rhythm; if not, their ego may be dominating their teaching style. In home practice, you may wish to work on a handful of poses in more depth to gain more subtle awareness.
Conversely, if you tend to practice a slower Hatha style of yoga, experiment with vinyasa and notice its effects on minimizing distraction. If you have physical challenges that prevent you from practicing vigorous types of yoga, you can do other activities like taking a walk with mindful intention, attitude, and breathing. In this case, the activity becomes the yoga pose.
Practice Themes
I train yoga teachers and often take the opportunity to experiment with them in class. In certain specialty intermediate classes, I ask students to hold poses for a longer duration of time, sometimes only doing twelve poses in a ninety-minute class. After each pose, I poll the students about how they feel. While individual experiences vary, they typically fall under two categories: one group of students has a similar energetic state after every pose and the other group experiences different feelings after each and every pose.
Students who experience the same energy state in each pose commonly share feeling grounded and having an open heart or a clear mind. Regardless of what pose they are practicing, students in this category always vocalize the same feeling. These students superimpose their own state of mind onto the poses. The second category of students has different responses to each pose. Using their intuition, they discover the archetype and energy of the specific poses. They apply the essence of the pose to their lives from a different viewpoint than the first group.
Neither experience is better than the other—both of the groups are correct in their approaches to the psychology of yoga. The generalization is that students in the first group will likely relate better to a vinyasa style of practice, doing poses sequentially without breaks. Students from the second group are likely to savor the essence of each pose in a slower Hatha style of practice, where each pose is held independently.
Focus on What You Need
If you are a beginner, start out with the first step and try to follow the program in a sequential order. Once you have been doing yoga poses for six to twelve months, you can progress on to the more advanced practices presented in this book. Some steps will inevitably require more time, effort, and focus. If you feel called to work on a step, then go ahead and do so, even if it is out of the order provided here.
No matter what, make sure that your yoga practice addresses your needs. Understand that life will throw you curve balls and you must work within your own parameters. Depending on what is going on in your life, how much time you spend on your pose practice may vary from week to week, month to month, or year to year. At specific times in your life, relaxation may be more important, or breathing, or meditation. Trust your inner guide to tell you what you need.
Processing Your Experience
Yoga experiences vary between students. But one thing is certain: yoga is an incredible journey. At times, it is exhilarating and uplifting, and at others, challenging and overwhelming. It is vital that you find ways to process your experience, such as finding an instructor and creating a yoga community with a small group of serious students. If you do not have access to a yoga community or instructor, surf the Internet and research reputable yoga blogs and online communities and teachers to correspond with. Journaling is a good way to keep track of your progress and work through emotions. Attending yoga retreats or joining extended seminars can also inspire your practice. If you are isolated, make plans to go away and study at a retreat center for a weekend or longer.
Many yoga students make the mistake of going to extremes. Students sometimes put too much effort into their practice and neglect other responsibilities, which can actually slow progress. Extended periods of individual practice can give way to daydreaming or alienate students from their daily affairs. Yoga requires time, but remember that it should enhance your personal experiences and responsibilities to family and work, not take away from them. As in any situation, cultivating balance is key.
Find a Teacher
If appropriate, ask your yoga teacher to work with you individually. Learning one-on-one with a teacher may trigger some creative insight into your own practice. The teacher’s fees should be reasonable, perhaps in line with paying for bodywork and commensurate to his or her level of experience. Some general rules of the student-teacher relationship follow.
Journaling
Journaling can be a good way to tap into your emotions. Use your journal as a tool to examine and explore your pose, meditation, or pranayama practice. Just like a diary, a journal is a place to express your experiences and discovered truths on paper. There are so many things that the mind can dance with during practice: the breath, sensations in the body, mental focus, psychological aspects, chakras, archetypes, and more. When you consider that this menu of choices is true for each and every posture that you practice, including Child’s Pose and relaxation, there is a potential to be swept away by continual thoughts.
Journaling will help you process feelings that arise during yoga. The things you write about may be a direct expression of your practice or about how it affects your life. By putting your thoughts to paper, you can go deeper into your practice. Keep the journal near your mat during pose routines. If you practice outside of your home, have the journal in your car and keep it in the same location, so that know where to find it. Writing before going to sleep is a good way to review the events of the day and allow the mind to shut down and rest. For some, the early-morning hours are when they are the most clear. If you choose to journal in the morning, be careful that your daily responsibilities don’t take precedence over writing. Find a time of day to journal that allows you do it with some consistency.
Components of a Daily Practice
Establishing consistency of practice is important if you want to achieve yoga’s multiple benefits. Though they can be helpful, tools, tapes, or television programs make it difficult to fully realize these benefits. Attending a regular class with a qualified yoga instructor is the best way to receive comprehensive instruction. Your individual home practice is where you explore and enhance the skills you learn in class. A home practice is very important to progressing in yoga, but it is not a substitute for classroom interaction.
Setting a regular schedule for your practice is also important. Yoga poses may be practiced at any time of day except after meals. To help develop consistency, try to practice at the same time every day. In setting a schedule for yoga practice, consider your responsibilities and lifestyle. It is better to accommodate your multiple demands than to attempt practicing at a time of the day when your focus may be scattered. Picking the wrong time of day to practice may cause additional stress and anxiety. Recommended times for your practice are early in the morning when things tend to be quiet and calm or in the early evening around sunset. These two times are particularly auspicious, helping you build a reservoir of positive feelings and reduce stress.
In selecting the length of your practice you should use the same guidelines as selecting the time of your practice. Choose a length of time that will allow you to practice the physical asanas and have some quiet time for relaxation and/or meditation at the end. Be realistic so that you stick with your practice. It is better to have a consistent yoga practice that is shorter in duration than a longer practice that becomes erratic and stressful. The benefits of yoga can be achieved in a shorter time period if practice is consistent.
The location of your practice is also important. Select a well-ventilated, clean room. Stay away from practicing in an area with strong winds or a fan that blows full force on the mat. The temperature of the room should be warm and comfortable. Place your mat away from furniture and other objects that may cause injury if you lose your balance. Select a place that is reasonably quiet. You may also practice outdoors in an environment that is pleasant and comfortable.
The sequence of a yoga practice begins with centering and/or breathing exercises that often lead into the following progression of poses: standing, seated, lying, inversion, relaxation, and meditation. After warming up, you’ll want to start with more vigorous poses, then gradually move on to relaxing poses, leading to stillness in Corpse Pose or meditation. Include poses that move the spine in five directions—upward, forward, backward, sideward, and twisting. It is beneficial to practice balancing, stretching for the extremities, and inversions. Remember that there are no hard rules when it comes to sequencing. As you progress in yoga practice, tune in with awareness and let your body tell you which poses you need.
In the beginning, developing awareness of tension and relaxation in your body is like going into uncharted territory. We’re not usually taught subtle body awareness, and it takes practice to begin noticing how your body works and feels at any given moment. With time, you’ll start to recognize when you are holding tension in your neck, shoulders, jaw, belly, or low back, and you will try to avoid postures or activities that make your muscles tense. You can relax your body by simply taking a deep breath, releasing tension in the shoulders, or sitting up straight. With many years of practice, you will become greatly tuned in to the workings of your whole being, including the internal organs and systems of the body, the connection between the emotions and body, and the flow of breath and energy.
It can be very helpful to cultivate a feeling of “fun” around yoga discipline. If yoga is on the to-do list, then take it off! The way we perceive our practice will make or break the ability to come back to it each day. By connecting to the bliss that results from daily practice, we can more easily stay dedicated to it. Most students say, “When I do my yoga practice in the morning, everything in my day just goes better, from traffic lights being green, to completing tasks, to smooth relations with my partner.” Studies with children show that yoga practice increases their ability to anticipate and cope with challenges. Child yogis are more prepared to face problems, are more flexible in carrying out plans effectively and efficiently, concentrate better, have less fear of failure, have good memory, are able to plan and set priorities, and have healthy self-esteem and a positive social circle.
On the days when you’re not feeling disciplined or motivated, the role of community becomes paramount. Monastic people recognize the importance of joining together to help one another in the same way that extended family members care for one another. Within a community, it is also helpful to have a personal mentor who takes on the role of personal motivator. A mentor or close friend in the community understands our personal intentions to have a daily yoga practice. These support people help us transform our lives into an expression of our deepest intentions.
Guidelines for Yoga Practice
– In the case of pregnancy, please notify the instructor at any stage. Forward bending, backward bending, inverted poses, and twists may need to be modified or avoided during pregnancy. Yoga’s relaxation is beneficial, but stretching must be adapted to pregnancy.
– During menstruation, inverted poses (Shoulder Stand) are to be modified due to the shift of blood flow that may disturb the natural process of the body. Also, any position that causes strain may be modified.