Three Simple Rules

Follow these three simple rules and find a greater appreciation and joy of your practice.

1. Practice daily.

First, let’s take a moment and get UNserious. I’ve both read and written a lot of introspective and deep articles regarding yoga and the practice of asana specifically…but this post isn’t that. It’s about letting go of pretense and HAVING FUN. First things first, when it comes to your yoga practice, practice daily! This doesn’t mean you have to do an intense 60-90 minute session every single day. It means take 5 minutes to hold a headstand after a long day of travel. Stand up from your desk and do a few back bends to wake up from a mid-afternoon lull and stop slouching…that’s why Udaya yoga is so awesome because you can do a 5-minute video or a 60-minute video ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!

2. Enjoy the spaces between.

Second, sometimes in traditional asana practice we can get so wrapped up in alignment or how the pose it supposed to look, that we miss all the deeper elements. Time and time again I see students throwing their bodies around their mats strictly concerned with the end game, trying to achieve the final posture at ANY cost. We do this for a few reasons, mainly the final posture being much more rewarding to our egos. Just as in life, we often avoid doing hard work associated with getting a specific thing, person, or circumstance and we try to take short cuts which ultimately can call into question our integrity and presence of mind. What about cultivation or mindfulness as we move? What about enjoying the journey, the moment you’re in, being present and forgetting about where you are heading or what’s next?? Enjoy the space in between. Learn to love those moments because they matter just as much, if not more than the final pose.

3. Don’t take yourself or the practice too seriously.

Lastly….and why I choose this featured video clip…DON’T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY! Remember to have fun, to play and explore your body, mind, and breath. Sometimes yoga can be a very linear practice so bust out of that box and move in new directions. Walk like a lizard, spin in circles till you’re dizzy, use your body as an experiment and test out new ways to move and breath. Enjoy your practice. Smile. Have fun.

By Caley Alyssa