Growing a Yoga Practice at Home
We are many months into shutdowns caused by the global coronavirus pandemic and there is a strong possibility that you have taken at least one online yoga course. It took me three entire months before I could get on my mat and begin to flow again. I felt as if I was holding my breath and waiting for it to be over. Well, it’s not over and after a few strained Zoom or Facebook yoga classes, I just stopped.
I teach high school students for a minimum of 8 hours each day on Zoom. And while I am grateful to have work and the ability to continue physically distancing, I have come to associate Zoom calls with frustration and stress. Trying to forcibly transform all of my lessons into digital-friendly mediums while maintaining a sense of professionalism and optimism for the sake of my students is draining and exhausting.
Each morning for weeks I sat on my bolster, squirming looking for meditation in the micro studio that I set up. I have always maintained a vigorous personal practice. But I just couldn’t endure another moment on or in front of a screen. I sat there waiting for my body to accept that this is our current reality and to show up for myself regardless. Easier said than done.
Creating a space to practice has been one of the most beneficial things I have done to secure the consistency of my practice. As a huge part of my lifestyle yoga deserves a permanent and devoted space in my home. It is welcoming and inviting and along with other things has been a source of encouragement to get back into my practice when it just feels hard.
SELECTING SESSIONS
While experiencing the raw emotions of my personal sadness, I can’t help but think of the many others that are economically affected by the shutdowns and the studio closures. At the heart of each studio is a set of core teachers, that have spent their lives developing practices and sequences that energize us and bring us closer to ourselves and our practice. They have been the designers of a very elemental part of how our yoga has evolved.
Most teachers have moved their practice online in an effort to continue delivering critical yoga instruction online. I have taken many of those classes with varying experiences. Some were great, some were not so great. As an online teacher myself, I can feel their pain points and challenges directly, online teaching is hard. Some of the studios are still delivering classes online with their memberships and developing best practices for teaching online and this is great, but we do have some serious choices to make about how to continue supporting our community as well as finding resources to continue personalizing our practice.
TEACHERS WITHOUT BORDERS
Online teaching offers opportunities for students to connect across geographical boundaries. As long as you are mindful of the time changes you can experience some very exotic and nuanced yoga classes. Adding something new, a different voice, perspective, style of practice may be just what you need to energize your yoga practice.
EXPANDING EXPERIENCES
Go off-grid. Yoga has so much to offer beyond a standard flow. Try Kundalini, Kemetic, Ashtanga, Restorative, or Zen. Yoga offers a unique experience to everyone and on so many levels. Yoga Nidra is a yoga of restorative rest, yoga tantra is powerful energetic work, and pranayama is intentional breathing and there are classes in these practices everywhere online. Yoga is by no means a one-dimensional practice, now is a great time to expand and explore your range and curiosity.
Free yourself from the mat. Why not practice in a garden our on a hike? Nature provides so many opportunities to explore ourselves physically. Unstable beach sands shifting under your body will challenge your balance and core giving you a new sense of how you hold your foundation in practice. Where do you place your focus when you are on a clearing off of a trail, or on a rock facing? These challenges add new dimensions to the discoveries that yoga practice holds for us.
LEADING AND LOCAL TEACHERS
Silver lining… You can now take online classes from some of the leading yoga teachers of our time, from the comfort of your home. Use this as an opportunity to kick your practice into high gear. There are some fantastic yoga offerings that are available right now online taught by some of the most experienced and prolific teachers, there are also classes with teachers that are from your community that shouldn’t be overlooked. Often newer yoga teachers are learning from a variety of experts that all help to shape and create new pathways and gates to your yoga practice. Some of the most attentive and intuitive teachers that I have ever had were apprentices and I had wonderful experiences.
GETTING AND STAYING IN THE MOOD
Momentum is our best friend. Stagnation isn’t. But I guarantee there will be days that you are not in the mood, those are the days that you may need an extra push or a step back. Learn to listen to your heart in these moments. I recently had a nagging strain in my hamstring and I kept practicing on it and each time it felt worse. It didn’t go away until I took the time to rest it. I still practiced, but I let go of my ego about what I thought my body was supposed to do and look like doing and found ease. Once you get started it is easier to keep going, but also know when to pull back or rest.
MEDITATION
Doing nothing always puts me in the mood to move. Meditation is a great way to start off a yoga practice. Often the things that are blocking us from having the interest to be in the mood are mental blocks. Meditation is the chance to let go of those things that mentally block us. Quieting the mind before practice can unlock a natural rhythm and focus on the movement and breath connection that is essential to yoga.
BREATHWORK
Again asana and the breath are inseparable. The way that meditation helps us to quiet the mind, pranayama is a way to clear the energy system of the subtle body. There are many ways to do breathwork which can vary based on your intention. The best way to learn more about breathwork is to do a course in pranayama. Many studios and teachers are offering classes online.
My first experience with pranayam resulted in me on my mat in tears and it is a common experience as pranayama accesses parts of ourselves that are subtle and the flow of breath finds its way into our crevices loosening our resolve. It can be incredibly purifying.
GOALS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Don’t let goals and accountability become another unwelcome taskmaster. As someone who is incredibly ambitious, this is easier said than done. My ambitions often result in me taking on more responsibility than I can actually carry and then feeling shame. I am constantly seeking balance. In my life, this looks like sometimes saying no. Sometimes passing on things that will cause extra stress, even if I want to do them. In my practice, it looks like creating a sadhana that fills me with joy, practicing simple things that nourish my soul, and not attaching pressure and shame to them or their outcomes.
Setting an intention is a better approach for me. There is more space in that concept than the controlling shoulds and have to’s that burden my consciousness. Setting an intention can be as simple as choosing 3 moments a day to do something connected to my larger intention and finding joy and freedom in stepping away from my busy life to do something for me. AKA – Self-Care.
GATHER COMMUNITY
A dear friend once shared that physical distance instead of social distance felt more appropriate and I haven’t looked back since. So in your efforts to be physically distant if it is right for you there are a few ways that we can support and connect with each other with or without virtual conferencing.
PHYSICAL DISTANCE DATES
This is a challenge, but there are things that we can do to enrich the online learning experience. I recommend building a cohort of friends that want to connect with you and sign up for the same classes. No, it isn’t the same, but nothing is going to be so we need to be adaptive for now.
Another idea is to have a few people from your pod come over and you can all take the class together with physical distance in someone’s backyard, balcony, or courtyard. It’s good etiquette to communicate with the teacher beforehand about the larger group and pay the teacher for each guest.
KARMIC YOGA
We are at one of those moments in our shared human experience that we need each other more than ever before. We need to rebuild our right relationships with one another and rebuild civil discourse, empathy for those whose challenges are different than ours, caring for those that need help, and helping to amplify the voices of the marginalized. Yoga has an answer for that in karmic yoga.
Yes, this is exactly as it sounds. Giving selflessly for the sole benefit of someone else without expectations of self-enrichment. With so many in need and unable to rely on the safety nets of the past we are at risk of jeopardizing our entire society. I am in awe of how greed has manifested itself in certain areas of our society. We can empower ourselves to do something about it. Find something you care about and commit your talent, time, and energy to it.
Yoga is a utopia for the seeker. There is so much to learn and thankfully so many resources to learn from. I invite you to join the conversation and community by subscribing to our weekly newsletter and resource library.
