PATHWAY TO PRACTICE

by Anna Delury

Practice is all about getting started, setting aside the outer world for awhile, beginning.

Let practice be practice. It won’t feel like class. The energy of the group, the words of the teacher aren’t there. Practice is a journey you take with yourself.

“I don’t have time”. The story goes like this: “I have so much to do, so many pressing obligations, others are depending on me.“ But … what about your health, your balance, your growth? You deserve a practice which is good for you, which makes you a better you for you and for others.

Focus on what you like: Do you want stability, balance, strength, endurance, pain management, well-being? Then…

Plan ahead. Use a paper calendar or computer schedule, whatever works, and make an appointment with your practice. When practice periods are real they are do-able. Be realistic. In the natural rhythm of the day, carve out 10 to 15 minutes that can be consistently yours. These times are sacred. Now, no matter what happens, the time you need is there, waiting for you. Have faith, your practice times will expand when and as you are ready.

Find a space. Small or large, make this space pleasant. Keep your books, notes, a prop basket there, encouraging you, inviting you to come close.

Know yourself. Some of us practice only when things are bad; others of us only when life is going well. Allow for fear, concern, mood to be there and practice anyway.

Create a ritual. Start your practice the same way - sit quietly, or chant the invocation, or simply begin with the same pose each time - doing this creates a clear demarcation between daily life and where practice exists.

Start small. If you are just learning how to practice, begin with one or two poses you like. Enjoy them. It takes time to build the physical as well as the psychological stamina practice asks of us. Practice evolves at its own pace. Be patient.

Mix it up. If you always practice only what you “feel” like, switch it up and do a sequence from Light On Yoga or a recent class. If you only do what you are told to do, stop. Listen to what your inner world is requesting, and try it on for awhile. Flexibility is more than just a body that bends.

If you miss your practice don’t beat yourself up. We all get thrown off course at times. Be kind to yourself and just make a new plan. Then confirm that time like you would a lunch date with a friend.

Take a day off, the same day every week. Even if you had to miss another day, keep your day off. Bizarrely, this day, your rest day, crates a desire for more yoga that ends up nourishing the coming week’s practices.

Finally. Over time your practice will live inside of you and yoga will be your ally.