7 Ways to (Actually) Improve Your Yoga Practice

transforming

physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing

Yoga is one of those crazy, beautiful experiences where you can receive whatever you need even if you aren’t fully aware of what you’re seeking on a deeper level. Many people gravitate to yoga for the fitness benefits or to manage stress, and ultimately find out how incredibly healing and transformative the practice is. Yoga is truly holistic in the sense that it benefits the body, mind, and spirit. Something I’ve noticed through the many years of both teaching and being a student is that we always receive back whatever we invest into our practice.

This is how yoga works. It gives back however much you invest, to whatever degree you are willing to receive. It teaches and transforms us however we are willing to allow.

Regardless of what draws you to yoga, you'll get the most out of your practice if you fine-tune it. Through my practice, I've learned some things that have helped my practice and also students and yoga teacher trainees, so I'm passing them onto you. Because sharing is caring. And I freaking care.

7 Ways to (Actually) Improve Your Yoga Practice

Take resting postures whenever you want. Seriously.

But for real though. Just do it. I know for many super driven yogis, the idea of skipping a chaturanga seems like anathema to your very soul. A gentle reminder: yoga is not about doing the most. It’s about being the most rective you can be while giving the best you can on any particular day. Part of that offering is balancing grace with strength, effort with ease.

Devotion and dogma can often look similar, but have very different origins and results.That relentless drive to push ourselves is often a mirror that shows we’ve been programmed to believe on some level, we have to earn grace and a sense of worthiness. When I started my practice, I was rigorous to the point of injuring myself numerous times. I finally realized, “Oh my god, I’m not allowing myself to simply receive. I feel like I have to prove I deserve the peace, loving-kindness, and healing that comes with my practice.” Oof. That was a tough pill to swallow, but a really good one. A valuable lesson that came to me through my relentless Do the Most practice was that we don’t have to earn healing and the abundance of the universe. We do need to we need to clear space for it and have an openness to receive it. Ego—and I don’t mean vanity—takes up a lot of space that blocks out a lot of blessings the Universe wants to pour out to us.

It's more than ok to come into child's pose whenever the hell you feel like it, and especially when you want to recalibrate your breath or offer yourself loving-kindness and calm the mind. The breath is the practice. We use asanas as a vehicle to find moving mediation of the body and mind. 

Knowing when to explore stillness and rest is advanced yoga, and also a key part of making the most of your yoga practice. There are practical benefits, too. Resting postures help prevent muscle fatigue, and tired muscles can lead to yoga injuries. Honor your body and yourself by resting, refocusing, and re-centering with a resting posture whenever you need to in your practice.

Consistency is key

Let's just get this one out of the way early, because it's obvious. Consistency is the key to everything in life, but it can be one of the more challenging things to obtain. Yoga brings out everyone's inner tortoise or hare. You know what I'm talking about: the story of the race between the super slow tortoise and the zippity fast hare. 

The hare starts the race off with a blast and quickly gets ahead, but soon gets sidetracked because #ADHD #CheckingSocialMedia #NetflixBinge. The tortoise, on the other hand, keeps plodding along at a slow and steady pace. And what do you know, kids! HE WINS THE DAMN RACE. I personally hated this story growing up, because I’m definitely a hare by nature. Actually, I like to think of myself more as a cheetah, because they're so sleek and fast, and make adorable chirping noises that some might argue are creepy. My point remains valid. Trust me, I know all about starting off with fireworks levels of enthusiasm only to have that passion fade into a vapor trail of nothingness.  

Steady dedication always trumps short-lived enthusiasm.  The point is, it's easy to get obsessed with yoga and then over-do it or burn out. Commit to at least three short practices a week. It doesn’t have to be 60-90 minutes to be beneficial. If you're faithful to your yoga practice, you'll see the best results and experience transformation from the inside-out.

Move with intention

Most yoga practitioners either power through asanas, or they lackadaisically move in and out of poses. If you plow through a sequence using sheer adrenaline and force of will, chance are you might be missing out on deeply connecting to your breath and finding stillness within your mind. On the flip side, if you tend to not fully engage in a posture, you limit your body's ability to deeply inhale and exhale. It's also difficult to get energized when we don't fully extend our arms and activate our limbs. We all lean towards one of these two styles at any given time, but to make the most of your practice, explore a steady pace as you link breath, body, and movement. Move in and out of postures with intention and purpose. By mentally and physically engaging throughout your practice, you'll discover how empowering and rejuvenating yoga truly can be. Quality matters when it comes to yoga. Forget about perfection, but instead strive for progress each time you're on your mat.

Find lessons on the mat that you can live off the mat

Yoga can truly be a transformative experience. This happens when we stay present in our practice and quiet our thoughts. Without fail, some amazing bit of wisdom will fall into your head/lap/lotus filled life. It might be when you're dying a little bit in warrior II, and you tap into a place of inner strength and determination and breathe through the discomfort. This same strength that we find on the mat is ours to claim off the mat. When we breathe through uncomfortable postures and find an equanimous state, we learn we can find a place of calm regardless of circumstances or how we feel. When we choose to surrender our ego and recognize our efforts in our practice are enough, we can do the same in "real life" as well. As we learn to control our thoughts while practicing, we find we can rewrite negative, inner narratives we feed ourselves throughout a day.

Another important thing we can do is incorporate self-study into our practice.

One of the most beneficial things you can do for your yoga practice is to dive into self-study. This is actually an essential concept in yoga, and for good reason. When you take a bit of time to learn and practice on your own, you truly flourish within your practice because you can move at your own pace. This includes the physical practice, but also the other portions of the 8 limbs of yoga. Asana (postures) are only one of those branches. 

Youtube, podcasts, and online yoga courses are great resources for advancing your physical practice. Make sure the teacher is someone who has a well-established practice in the style you study, and a strong practice themselves. Your practice will thrive like crazy if you invest some time throughout the week to study a particular yoga topic or asana. 

Yoga is less about doing a bunch of fancy poses and more about having a tool that helps you walk your path and continue moving towards your higher purpose. This is where off-the-mat work comes into play. Investing in your spiritual and mental wellbeing has a powerful impact not only in your daily life, but also your practice. We integrate what we learn on our mat. And, we take the insights we receive on our yoga mats and apply them to our daily lives.  

I notice a significant difference in my state of mindfulness, peace, and what I focus on if I don’t do some soul nourishing and soul work off the mat. A beneficial habit I’ve formed is to read a bit from a spiritually inspiring book (for instance, I’m currently reading a beautiful book by Pema Chodron) each morning before breathwork and meditation. It helps calibrate my energy and intention right off the bat. When I have an ah-ha! moment on my mat, I try to enhance that insight and integrate it by learning from people far wiser than myself. I might spend 5 minutes on some days, and other days a couple hours. This is where books and podcasts are so valuable. Journaling helps me integrate what I’m learning, although I found for my personality, I don’t like having too many Must Do’s in my morning ritual, so I use journaling as needed. The point is expansion and self-study. Soul work is the real work of yoga. 

Create a pre-yoga ritual

Creating a consistent ritual helps you become fully present, and it also creates a feeling of sacredness surrounding your practice. You can make this ritual whatever you want, so long as it has meaning to you.It also helps instantly shift your mind away from the craziness of life and drop into the present moment better. Rituals send a signal to the brain that it's time to shift gears, and more to the point, it's a simple but effective form of self-care. 

My pre-yoga ritual is the following: 1) I read something inspirational (but short) so I have something to think over as I head over to yoga to teach or do class. 2) I set up my mat and always clean my feet and hands. This cleanliness is part of the 8 Limbs of yoga, but it also helps me feel like I'm preparing myself and my body for something sacred and special. I like to think of it as energetic clearing, too, like I’m getting the energetic ick off of me. Plus, we grab our feet a hella lot in yoga. Sorry-not-sorry, but I'm an extreme gerbaphobe. Usually, I'll incorporate essential oils or candles when I'm doing a home practice and set up a cushy, luxe little spot for meditation. 3) I do some stretches, and often offer up gratitude with each part of my body that I stretch. 4) I do a mini-meditate and breathwork session to calm my monkey brain down. My thoughts go at warp speed, and it helps prepare both my body and mind. I also use a little time pre-yoga and during savasana to pray and connect to the Divine. My mat has become a sacred, special place for me, in part because these simple rituals shift my focus and make it a special, sacred space.

Some people like to create ritualistic themes around the moon, using crystals, oracle cards, or burning sage to clear their space. Others write down a gratitude list and mentally go through them as they quietly sit and breathe before class. One of my friends creates a little altar in front of her mat, and sets up flowers and meaningful statues and objects that she reflects on before her practice. There's no wrong way to create a ritual. Just let it be something that works for you.

RELEASE EXPECTATIONS:

It's easy to come to practice with a ton of expectations ranging from how the class will make you feel, to how your body will (or should) perform. You might be expecting a certain teacher and get a sub. You could have a glorious class with an instructor one week, and come back expecting another euphoric experience. You might even be anticipating a certain type of flow, and end up with something that throws you off in the worst ways possible. 

Let all expectations go. Just show up with a willingness to receive whatever you’re supposed to receive that day. Refrain from placing demands on yourself or your practice. Instead, come to class with an open heart and an open mind, and you'll be blown away by how amazing you'll feel. Detachment is not apathy. It's simply holding out situations and feelings with open hands. If those things stay, great. If they leave, that’s perfectly fine, too.

Remember, it’s not the instructor, class, or even style of yoga that creates a powerful and transformative experience. It’s our willingness to participate and see all things as vessels, messengers, and teachers of the Universe. What you seek in life is seeking you. What you search for, you always find.