Most of us yoga-nuts can probably agree, there is nothing more delicious than a class led by a fabulous teacher – the detailed instruction, the infusion of philosophy, the feeling of safety, the energy of the rest of the group – it can be downright magical.
Alas, it can also be pretty time-consuming. Of course we should all make room in our schedules to regularly attend class, but there are times when we simply need to balance classes with our own practice, at home.
Home practice! Yes! So what do I do?
Okay! No time for class this week, but you’ve totally committed to practicing a daily half-hour before work. But you’re bored! You’ve cycled through every DVD you own six times, you’ve tried a couple of sequences in books, but nothing’s lighting your fire like class. Maybe you should just wait it out till you can go again? You know from experience, though, that waiting gets your body annoyed and your mind in knots. You should really do something, but what?
A friend and fellow yoga teacher recently shared her latest home practice with me – get on the mat and see what happens. That’s it! She sits, stands, or lies down according to what feels right in the moment, and sooner or later, her body starts to move. Some days this leads to an Ashtanga half-primary series, other days to a sequence of long-held, yin-style twists. Almost invariably, though, the getting on her yoga mat leads to something.
Intriguing. Yet terrifying. What if our body gives us nothing? What if our mind forgets the poses? What if? What if? What if we spend so much time thinking our way out of it that we never even unroll the mat and try?
On the Mat, at Long Last
You’ve done it. You’re here. Sitting, standing, or lying down, you begin to tune into your breath. The experiment begins.
This experiment may teach us what poses we love. It may teach us what poses we hate, and resist, and will only do when forced to by a teacher. It may teach us that there are days asana is not on the table, but a sitting meditation or long savasana are just what the doctor ordered. It may teach us that a few yin poses make the yang feel better and more open. Another day, it may teach the opposite. It may teach us to listen more closely to our breath.
It may reveal how dependent we are on teachers or other students to “compete” with. It may lay bare our inability to push ourselves without external demands. It may teach us that we actually like slowing down and practicing gently when we’re not trying to get “bang for our buck.” It may teach us we love the dance of a fast-paced flow when no one’s there to judge our bent-kneed downward dogs and block-supported lunges.
It may teach us any number of things about ourselves that we never would have learned in class, from a DVD, or without the courage to say, “Hey body, what do you feel like today?”
So what are you waiting for? Scrape together ten minutes, and get on your yoga mat!