Developing Your First Yoga Practice
Your first yoga practice requires that you learn to develop and the cultivate a state of peace and calm whilst faced with physical, mental and emotional challenges are the practice of yoga. Choosing to honour yourself through the pursuit of a yoga practice is intelligent and loving. The word yoga means to join, or to yoke. This represents a primary requirement for all of life – to feel safe, unified and connected.
Throughout history, the pursuit of happiness has been humanity’s abiding quest. The happiness we seek is more than just the ephemeral happiness of a desire fulfilled or an adversity overcome. What we seek is far deeper and more lasting, perhaps a more apt description is ‘peace without suffering.’ Yoga is a practical and ancient approach to this state of happiness or nirvana.Let us start with a simple and realistic approach to adding yoga to your life. I often say to my students, if you are only able to do legs-up-the-wall for 5 minutes everyday, you are on your way to cultivating your yoga. We will expand our practice as we progress, but for now this simple excercise is a good place to begin.
If you feel ready for something more, try working your way up to all of the first three modifications for downward dog, everyday for a month.
Yoga is about making a choice each day that celebrates your well being. You now have 3 choices before you:
1. The time and place that you’ll begin your practice. Are you going to create a space in your life to practice?
2. The choosing of your destination. Are you going to health and happiness?
3. The effort you’ll put in to get there. Are you going to excercise the discipline required to get there?