Tips for Improving Your Practice

I like what Paul Jerard has to say about Improving Your Hatha Yoga Practice. Summarized to a ridiculous degree, he says practice, look for guidance, and study. So simple when reduced to these terms; not so simple to put in practice.

One point about looking for guidance resonates with me, because even if you aren't able to have a Guru or Swami or study in India or stay in an ashram, a good yoga teacher who is willing to share knowledge is a wonderful gift. Not all teachers even know their students, but a teacher who "sees" each student and provides inspiration and encouragement is precious. I've been very lucky in this regard and am so appreciative.

As far as study goes, Jerard recognizes that a lifetime is not sufficient to learn all there is to know about "technique, the subtle body, the physical body, various forms of meditation, pranayama, history, and philosophy", but that shouldn't discourage regular, disciplined effort in the form of study. I rarely pass a day without reading about yoga, either by sitting with one book or by looking up a topic in several books, but what if I did as Jerard mentions and studied for an hour a day, each day? Imagine the accumulation of hours and knowledge.

Don't get me wrong, an hour a day every day is beyond me, but I could certainly become more systematic about scheduling time for study. It reminds me of my Self-Challenge from the beginning of the year that led to finding a new teacher, further study, and teacher training.

Unity, not Uniformity...

I've been contemplating a yoga blog for a while. Not just as a place to record my own thoughts and progress, but also as a place to begin recording links to the thoughts, ideas, practices, and meditations of other yoga practitioners.

Because I've been considering the way my personal sadhana has changed and the kind of yoga I see as "right" for myself and for certain individuals (i.e. this individual's practice should be gentle & restorative, this one's practice should be more active, etc.), I appreciated this post on Everything Yoga. "Group think" and "perception" -- whether to be rigid in your view or open, whether to accede to a certain line of thinking or to feel comfortable with your own feelings about what is appropriate.

Which is why I like T.K.V. Desikichar's comment about "unity, not uniformity" as the goal of yoga....