Developing A Regular Yoga Practice, Part I

I want to share some of  the wisdom I’ve gained in the process of developing an at-home yoga practice over the past 14 years. I did not do this over night, and it would be helpful for you not to expect this from yourself either.

Most of the tips and ideas in this series of blog posts will pertain to consistent, at-home yoga practice. However, they could also apply to attending class with well-trained teachers. The best advice that I’ve been given is to start your introduction to yoga by taking class with a talented, capable, experienced teacher who will help you learn how to practice safely. This could mean scheduling private yoga sessions with a teacher. Many experienced teachers offer private sessions. Though private sessions can be expensive, you won’t need very many and perhaps only one. A good teacher can impart basic information efficiently, especially in a one-on-one setting.

If you are more inclined to start where you are, without seeking guidance from teachers, here are the steps I would suggest:

Step 1. Get a good yoga book, or an online resource. One option I would recommend is https://yogainternational.com/. And here is an example of a high quality video that illustrates how to safely practice Pyramid Pose, from my teacher Kaoverii: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OL4VefRaY

A book that I highly recommend for developing a regular personal practice is Moving Into Stillness by Erich Schiffman. It provides a thorough description of how to safely practice every pose in the sequences that are offered. However, this is just one of many yoga books, videos, online videos (both free and at-cost), magazines, etc. that offer sequences to get you started with a regular practice. Make sure the material that you are using as of quality.

Start there. To summarize: get recommendations from friends or people in your community about experienced teachers whose class works for your schedule. Take a few classes with a few teachers, and possibly a few private sessions with a teacher who you resonate with. This is a great preliminary step to developing a regular yoga practice. In my opinion, it is necessary for all beginning practitioners. If you prefer to learn alone, start your practice by working with printed material or a video. I began my at-home a’sana practice 14 years ago with one of Rodney Yee’s videos.