Getting a Yoga Rhythm.

One of the interesting and startling things that I learned about Yoga is the number of poses that are available for your use.      Since I started practicing,  I have probably done at least 100 different poses in either classes or at home using videos and a few books that I have bought.   The sheer number of poses and styles is almost overwhelming.    In addition,  classes are sometimes not what they are called and are really dependent on the teacher.     There can be a vast difference between two teachers for the same class in both the poses and the flow of the class.  


A long time ago, I used to lift weights on a regular basis.   Over time,  I was able to create a schedule where I would do certain muscle groups on certain days and allow my body time to recover from a weight lifting session before I would work on that muscle group again.    This is something that I think should be brought to your Yoga practice.

The public Yoga classes make it difficult to get the same type of rhythm.   This is for two reasons.  The first is that most people probably only go to one or two classes a week and so do not demand a "program" for themselves.   The second reason is that there is such a variety of teachers teaching the classes and therefore there is no logic to the classes.   In the studio I practice in,   there are Yin,  Vinyasa , Forrest and foundation classes.  Only one instructor follows pretty much the same class from week to week. It is up to the student then to work on a program for themselves. This is where the home practice comes in.     It is in your home practice  (unless you go to a Bikram or Ashtanga only studio) where you make that rhythm that will make your overall practice successful.


I generally go to my studio  only two or three nights a week.    On the off days (with the general exception of Friday ),  I  generally practice the Ashtanga Primary Series with a back and core warm up before hand.   What I try to do,is to use the  Primary Series as the core of my Yoga Rhythm.  It is a full body workout (you are really exhausted at the end) and I know what to expect.   I try to mix up some new poses to add more variety but the flow is the core of my practice and it is done in my living room and not in the studio.  

So, a home practice allows me to get to the rhythm that I need.    When you go to public classes,  you sometimes don't know if you are going to get the workout of your life or 60 minutes of chanting..     Building that home practice is what is important.