I’ve waited years to talk about this! It’s absolute freedom to me to be honest about designing your personal yoga practice. You see, when you teach yoga you have to learn to construct a sequence which will be manageable for the largest number of people in the demographic that you are working with. It’s a fabulous way to learn, taking group classes. The support is amazing and often, especially in the early stage of practice – you can go further in association with others. There comes a time in practice though…a time when it’s really time for you to discover your own personal connection with yoga and the truth that is being uncovered in you by the practice. This can really only be done on your own. No one else can feel what you feel. No one else can really understand that revelation that you have. It all travels through our personal filters. And what, if not the actualization of our own yoking to the sacred, to the infinite, to the wise – are our practices about? It’s something to celebrate when we are called to develop our personal practice.
Generally I suggest that you start out considering two approaches to designing. The first is to get on your mat and play – and in this I encourage you work with and without music. Music will drive you in a particular direction, but it can also obscure what is going on inside at a deeper level. It’s a complicated topic which we’ll address in future posts. The key at this point is to be aware that it will have an impact in your practice. The second is to decide on a goal and then work towards it. For this second, more structured sadhana-like way to practice yoga asana – I suggest you start by picking a few basic key postures and doing them every day. Overall, I design my sadhana moon month by moon month, and each month I will design a full sequence for myself. I decide the minimum postures I will do on a busy day. Each day when I get on my mat it falls somewhere in the spectrum. I always have a posture which is key for the moon month. I try to tie it into my spiritual theme. I always did that for the students and yes, I do it now just for myself. I don’t hesitate to indulge the desires I have about my body, but I always try to give them a context. For example, I gained weight during COVID (can you believe that? Lol) and I want to change that. So my spiritual themes are around sadhana and the discipline contained therein. That spiritual practice supports what I need to do for my body- which right now is to practice almost everyday. We are integrated beings and there will always be a physical and spiritual coherence in our practice if we are open to it.
Also, in this more structured component of developing practice it’s good to decide how you want to learn to understand your body. Some people thrive with that anatomical memorization of parts. Eh, not me. For me, learning about the energy body was the doorway to learning about the muscles and bones and tendons and organs. Once you decide on your approach, there are many resources online books and workshops. If you are serious about yoga, I highly recommend, Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar. He has sample sequences at the end of the book which are great learning devices.
IF YOU FORCE NOTHING YOU WILL BE 100% SAFE. FORCE NOTHING!
Remember to bring your wisdom with you on your mat. In my years as a teacher I’ve seen people fall out of arm balances because they were drinking before class, people pushing postures until they snap, all kinds of things. Most recently, my last employer – probably in his early seventies, felt fat from the COVID too. He jumped immediately into doing 200 sit ups with a 25 pound weight on his head. I said, “I would never let one of my students do that”. He kept doing it. Let’s put that in the “don’t try this at home” file. The beauty of yoga is that you can gain without pain, and that the results of everything you do are cumulative – a sustainable practice builds sustainable gains. Moderation, balance and consistency are better than dramatic pushes followed by collapses into nothingness because you’ve overdone it.
It is my deepest wish that this information will be useful to you, that you will grow in your life through your practice. Keep practicing all is coming.
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Natalie Ullmann 