Taking classes and working with a trainer is a great way to get motivated and achieve your fitness goals. An experienced teacher instructs your every move so no need to think about what exercises to do and how to challenge yourself. However an important component of working out is to understand what your body needs. Creating your own workouts and yoga practice is essential to figuring out what you need so you can make your body work better for you!
I had lots of comments and questions from my blog post about my weekly workouts on how I build my own yoga practice. It actually took me awhile to do this. I was unsure of what poses to do and what to do next. I remember taking yoga classes when the teacher would ask everyone to work on their own and do what our bodies needed. I always looked around the room for ideas on what poses to do and exchanged confused looks with others in the room. But practice made it perfect for me!
So where do you start in building your own yoga practice?
FIRST: Sit and observe. Close your eyes for a moment and pay attention to your body. Acknowledge what feels tight, what’s in pain, or what you’d like to stretch and lengthen.
SECOND: Pick 2 things you want to work on. Any more than 2, your focus will get lost. Once you’ve identified the areas of attention, then go ahead and start moving. Think about the stretches and poses you did in class and get right into them.
THIRD: Who cares! Pay attention to only what you want and need. It doesn’t matter what you look like or what others think about your pose or sequence. This is all about you! The less you care about how you look or what people think, the more you are tapping into what you need!
LASTLY: Just breathe. Connect every move with a breath and breathe deeper when holding your poses. Try to stay in each pose for 5-8 breaths. Breathing helps deepen your poses and keep you connected to your body.
Here is a brief clip from my own practice this morning. My focus was on opening the hips to release my tight lower back and quadriceps while creating heat with some core work.
If you need a little guidance, here is a great sequence to get you started! Have fun!