Even though the Yoga Tradition tells of a universal goal for freedom it also describes the journey as being personal with an individual way to get there. Unlike many religions there are no set rules or doctrines but more multiple suggestions for practices that will help reveal the nature of the mind. An authentic practice is most effective when tailor made for the individual rather than a group sequence. When we practice our own yoga it facilitates our own healing, integration and path towards freedom.
Yoga Classes are a modern phenomenon. They are a much needed contemporary attempt to provide the beginnings of ‘being’, relaxation, health as well as a return to fully inhabiting the body – an art which has become lost in these times of digital convenience. Classes inspire us to practice and hold a wonderful group energy that remind us of our undeniable interconnection with others.
However as Sarah Powers points out:
I see classes as an adjunct to home practice, not vice versa. Yoga truly becomes your own when you rely on the strength of your love and dedication primarily, and not on the structure of a class.
A class can never fully meet everyones personal needs and in many cases may provide inappropriate practices for what any given individual needs.
Through this blog I aim to provide inspiration and suggestions of simple practices that you can begin to integrate at home or on the hop as you cultivate a personal practice that is one of listening and attending to your dearest Self.
Open up a dialogue with your Self. If you don’t know where to begin with a more formal practice I suggest just sitting and listening within. What do you notice? Is there a need that you have? I’ll be giving lots of suggestions in the coming months about ways you could structure a home practice but in the meantime, if you were to sit for 10 minutes now and listen to this little guided meditation, you may be able to come up with some kind of an intention that could lead toward doing some practice that can support you this week. Be open to what you find and how you might meet that.