10 Ways to Liberate Your Yoga Practice

Yoga is an ethical and spiritual philosophy. It's really not just an exercise routine.

​And for many years that's what people wanted from my classes. This is also totally fine because caring for physical health is an important part of our personal development.

That said, there's so much more to it. 

​So, if you're ready to expand your practice off the mat, and outside of sweaty, hot studios, here are my top tips to liberate your practice!

Here are my top 10 Tips to Liberate Your Yoga Practice

1. Assess your physical and emotional needs: Take a moment to reflect on your current state, both physically and emotionally, and consider what type of yoga practice would best suit you in the moment.
2. Embrace Yoga's roots beyond Asana: Take time to learn from people who study yoga as part of their own native culture. One of my favorite teachers is Dr. Ranganathan who owns and operates yogaphilosophy.com. He has free and low cost Yoga ethics courses that completely explode the "western yoga" concepts and bring the conversation right to the heart of what Yoga is and is intended to be. On the mat, whether it's through meditation, pranayama, or affirmations, adding spiritual elements to your yoga practice can help deepen your connection with your inner self and bring a greater sense of calm and inner peace.
3. Make it inclusive: practice yoga in a way that honors all bodies - including your! Regardless of size, shape, or ability yoga can and should be adaptable. Consider modifying your own practice with props, taking modifications when needed, or trying out a chair or wall-supported practice, or modulating your energetic outputs based on that day's demand.
4. Embrace your season of life: Be it illness, injury,  stress, pregnancy, aging - changes in life can bring unique physical and emotional changes. So embrace these changes by modifying your yoga practice to best serve your body and help you connect with yourself.
5. Find your flow: Incorporate fluid movements into your practice to help you get into the flow and move beyond the distractions of the world around you. Fluid and rhythmic movements not only lubricate the joints to decrease pain, they also soothe the nervous system (like rocking a baby!)
6. Get creative: Mix and match different yoga styles, poses, and sequences to find what works best for you and keep your practice fresh and interesting. Somedays you may love a vigourous power flow, other days you might want the discipline of slow flow, and when you're feeling stuck or tight a restorative class may meet your needs. Treat your movement like medicine, and dose appropriately.
7. Listen to your body: Pay attention to how your body feels during each pose and make modifications or adjustments as needed. This doesn't mean avoiding intensity. Rather it means, no matter what intensity you are experiencing, you committed to observing it and layering in the breath, mindset, and modification tools you need to support yourself. 
8. Prioritize Social Connection: Practicing yoga with others can be a fun and supportive way to deepen your practice and connect with like-minded individuals. This could be at a study, or in a live virtual class. Be brave and say hi or introduce yourself through a virtual chat feature. That said, nothing beats IRL experiences, and they don't need to be formal yoga. The practice of sustaining connections with other people IS yoga as yoga means Union. Make connections a priority.
9. Incorporate fitness elements: Incorporate strength building and cardio elements into your yoga practice to help improve overall fitness and physical health.
10. Keep it consistent: The key to a personalized yoga practice is to make it a consistent part of your life, no matter what changes come your way.

By incorporating these top 10 ways to personalize your yoga practice, you can ensure that it evolves with you as you navigate through life's changes and continues to bring you physical and emotional benefits for years to come.