By Susan Guise-Bagley
One of the most difficult things beginners in yoga and/or meditation face is in developing a home practice. We all face this at some point. It's our nature to want to do what's easy and comfortable and for most of us, that means we ignore or skip our own practice and instead rely on a class or group setting. In order to deepen your experience and really make it your own, you should consider taking it a step further and develop a home practice. Not only will it enhance your own awareness on physical, emotional and mental levels, it will increase the benefit you get out of your classes.
Here are a few suggestions on how to develop a home practice:
INTENTION: everything starts with intention. Without intention, we won't progress in anything. We need to be honest about our intentions and honor them as best we can. To form a positive intention, think about the reasons why you want to do a particular thing or develop a particular skill. Imagine yourself doing it, and try to make your image as real as possible.
Consider everything you can about it: what specialized equipment you might need, where you will do it, and when you will do it.
PERSONAL SPACE: Setting up your personal space is important. It's a lot harder to develop a home practice if you don't have a consistent place to practice. For yoga, it just means having a space that doesn't require you to ship furniture out to storage, just moving a few chairs and having a space approximately 7 x 8 feet is plenty. For meditation, you'll need to take it a step further and try to dedicate a space - it might just be a corner of a room with a small table on which you can place flowers, a rock or a spiritual figure. Try to make it an area of low traffic where you won't be disturbed, a place where you can close the door and where it is relatively quiet (no music or loud noises if possible). Try to set aside a regular time each day for yoga and/or meditation practice. Sometimes it's best to do them at the beginning of the day so it might mean setting your alarm clock a bit earlier in order to make time available. You won't regret doing this as these practices set you up for the rest of your day. Doing them in the evening is also beneficial, but don't do yoga too close to bedtime (or just do the relaxation or restorative practices). Meditating close to bedtime is very beneficial.
SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT: one of the excuses we often use is that we don't have the right gear to practice, so this is an easy one to eliminate right away, provided you can afford it. For yoga, you'll need a blanket or a yoga mat (prices range from CAD $14.95 to $59.95 depending on the length, thickness and mat material). Optionally you can also use props such as a yoga strap and a block. Your teacher will generally guide you if these are needed. For meditation, it's important to have a firm support cushion (a zafu or round meditation cushion is the traditional one used - they cost about CAD $55.00) in order to help support the body in an upright sitting position. Alternately, you could use a kneeling bench (prices start around CAD $60.00)if you have problems getting into a cross-legged sitting posture. You can also just sit in a chair provided you sit upright (not leaning back) with feet planted firmly on the floor. Follow the links below to find out more about yoga and meditation products.
EXCUSES & OBSTACLES: It's amazing how quickly we make up excuses NOT to practice - they happen so quickly that we are often unaware of them (or chose not to pay attention to them). One excellent method of bringing them to light is to address your yoga or meditation space on a daily basis, consciously becoming aware of the excuses that surface: "I'm too tired today, I'll do it tomorrow", or "I did enough yesterday, I'll take a break today" or "I'm not very good at this", or "I don't have time right now", etc. As you become aware of the excuse, try to recall your intention. Then go to your yoga mat or meditation cushion. For yoga, just do a warm up exercise like the Sun Salutations (part of the Integral Yoga series). You may just find that after doing these, you feel motivated to do some more postures. For meditation, go to your cushion and just sit down. Get into the habit of practicing your meditative posture (spine erect but not stiff, head upright, chin slightly tucked in to elongate the spine, shoulders relaxed and hands in lap or on knees). Even a few minutes of practice a day will ease you into the habit of sitting.
BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF: avoid the trap of judgment and competitiveness. Whatever you do is just right. If you can't practice today, you can't (but be aware of the excuses). If you can only devote 10 minutes, that's fine. Consistency in practice is more important - 10 minutes 5 or 7 times a week is better than 60 minutes once a week. What you are developing through this process of daily practice is commitment, and this is a valuable asset that you can use throughout your life.
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS: keeping a small calendar next to your practice area is a great form of encouragement. Mark down how many minutes you practice each day. Make a commitment to do a certain amount of practice a day (for example, starting off with 10 minutes a day every other day, to start, then 10 minutes a day every day, etc.) If you successfully meet your commitment at the end of a week, reward yourself! (but not by skipping practice). Try to gradually increase your home practice - setting high goals at the beginning is not the best idea, so start small and gradually work up to more each day as you find yourself meeting the commitments you've made for yourself.
Home practice is a rewarding and enriching experience that only you can develop. If you are taking a class, follow the teacher or facilitator's instructions on what to practice at home. If you're not taking a class, do consider it - one can make all sorts of mistakes in practice by attempting things on one's own. As you progress in your practice, a teacher can help point out areas of weakness or opportunity to develop.
Heartspring Yoga - yoga classes and workshops led by Susan Guise-Bagley, CGA, RYT, registered certified yoga teacher (member of Yoga Alliance and IYTA). Susan specializes in yoga for stress and back pain, and also teaches yoga and meditation to prison inmates through a local charity.
Heartspring Yoga's approach is suitable for complete beginners and is taught in an easeful and meditative manner. The student is guided to a deep level of physical and mental well-being, vitality and relaxation, promoting flexibility, strength, and health for the entire system. Integral Yoga is utilized by Dr Dean Ornish in his groundbreaking work in reversing heart disease.
We offer special INTRO TO YOGA class series (6 consecutive one hour classes on a Saturday afternoon) as well as regular yoga classes, workshops and private yoga sessions. Visit our website for more info at http://www.heartspringyoga.com/
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