Home Practice

Do you have one? I’ll admit it… I don’t either. But I know it is SO important. It is the only way to really find your own practice, your own voice, your own peace. I am currently taking a great class at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis called Personal Practice Development (PPD) with Monique Maxwell. It has already been extremely helpful in getting me think about my practice – what it means to me, what it looks like when my ego gets in the way, and how the lessons learned through cultivating my own practice apply to all parts of my life. This week I am trying to comply with Monique’s assignment to do five sun A’s, three sun B’s, big toe pose, handstand, and three minutes in a seated forward fold every day. Two days down, four more to go. Wish me luck!

So for you, gentle reader, I recommend checking out the PPD classes at the Yoga Center and following this advice I ran across in the Yoga Journal. Happy practicing!

Home Practice:

1. Set aside a place and a time to practice every day. Start with a short amount of time, such as 15 to 30 minutes.

2. Identify an activity that is no longer valuable in your life and remove it, so that your home practice doesn't just add another task and make your life more complicated and full.

3. Commit yourself to being consistent in your practice for six months.

4. Find an occasional practice partner.

5. Have several planned sequences in the back of your mind as a backup.

6. Continue to go to class weekly for inspiration and ideas on how to change your home practice or what to focus on at home.

7. Recognize how much yoga has already helped you, and trust that your daily life will be better with a daily practice.