I hope you're well and you're having a nice day today! How is your yoga practice going? How are your body and mind feeling?
We're all interested in the incredible benefits yoga offers, like improved management of stress, increased strength and flexibility, improved quality of sleep, and improved overall well-being. And we all know that the path to gaining these benefits (and more!) is consistently getting on our mats to practice.
But establishing a consistent practice is very often easier said than done, for a variety of reasons!
This year we're unrolling a new type of yoga challenge - the 1.14 Challenge - to support you in improving the consistency of your practice.
The 1.14 Challenge is based on Yoga Sūtra 1.14:
In order for one's practice to become firmly grounded, one must practice for a long time, without interruption, and with a positive attitude of enthusiasm.
During the Challenge, we'll provide guidance, motivation, and accountability, to support you in establishing a consistent practice.
We look forward to helping you make yoga a part of your routine so that you'll feel your best every single day and so that you can live life to the fullest.
We sure hope you'll join us!
Read more about the 1.14 Challenge here. And please let me know if you have any questions!
All my best,
What Does "Consistent Practice" Really Mean?
As a yoga teacher, I often find myself encouraging my students to practice "consistently," and it seems like lately a lot of questions have popped up about what "consistent" really means.
And like most everything in yoga, the answer is: It Depends!
Generally,
Consistent practice means practicing daily or at least most days of the week.
But...
What if you don't have time for that?!
Well, let's look at some options and scenarios.
If you like to practice in the studio
Most yoga studios, ours included, offer hour-long classes. Studio practitioners tend to get into a routine of attending one class per week. Establishing a routine is an excellent idea! But for best results, you want to try to attend at least 3 classes per week.
If you analyze our Class Schedule carefully, you'll see that our weekday classes are (for the most part) set up on a MWF or TT schedule. The same class is offered with the same teacher at the same time on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or on Tuesday and Thursday. For example, Adria teaches Moderate at 8:30 a.m. on Mon, Wed, and Fri, and Lk teaches Strong at 5:30 p.m. on Tues and Thurs.
(Please note that on Fridays we don't offer afternoon classes, so the afternoon schedule is set up MW and TT.)
We understand it can be difficult to keep a consistent schedule for both weekdays and weekends, so you'll see a bit of flexibility in our weekend schedule.
Our schedule is designed with you in mind, to help you establish and maintain a consistent practice.
If you attend classes in the mornings, you can attend MWF or TT and a weekend day to get your 3 weekly classes.
If you attend classes in the evenings, you can attend MW or TT and a weekend day to get your 3 weekly classes.
Of course, you're welcome to come see us for a class every day if you'd like!
If you like to practice at home
The pro of practicing at home is that you have a greater chance of establishing a routine that enables you to practice every day. But the con of practicing at home is that it can sometimes take a great effort to establish the routine.
If you practice at home, whether with a video or with your customized practice from your Individual Instruction session, there are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Identify a place in your home to practice. Keep your mat and any needed props in your practice space.
- Establish a time of day to practice so that you build your practice into your daily routine.
- Practice any number of minutes that works for your needs and your schedule. If you have only 10 minutes, you can do two āsanas and a breathing practice. If you have 15 minutes perhaps you can do half a video or just the standing portion of your customized practice. Follow up with the second half later in the day or perhaps the following day. Be creative, there are no hard and fast rules. The idea is to just get on your mat to establish the routine of practice.
- Be easy with yourself. If you have an especially busy day and you can't find any time to practice, don't stress over it. Resolve to try again the next day.
Any questions? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you. And please stay tuned for next week's newsletter where I'll talk about special benefits that can be gained from consistent practice.
All my best,