As yoga practitioners in the modern era, we are blessed with many teachers and opportunities to learn and grow in the science and art of yoga.
When it comes to the yoga postures and how they are practiced nowadays, it seems that there are many rajasic (stimulating) yoga practices which involve a lot of energy, movement and activity.
These types of practices are fine and can be useful sometimes to move energy and purify the body, but they can also cause more agitation and disintegration – the loss of cohesion and strength, if not done properly.
That’s why it is important to practice the yoga postures in sustainable and healthy way, which can lead to more union and strength of the body and mind.
What is sustainable yoga? It is practicing the art of yoga to enhance longevity and allow you to practice yoga into your later stages of life. I know of many yogis who are in their seventies, eighties and nineties still practicing all sorts of yoga postures. What is there secret?
Here are 5 tips for a sustainable, strong and healthy yoga practice:
- Let go of the need to be perfect in your yoga practice. Successful yoga practitioners and teachers understand that is not necessary to perfect their yoga practice. Practicing yoga is an ongoing journey of growth and self-discovery. When we practice with high expectations and goals of perfecting something, we tend to grasp and a grasping attitude causes tensions as well as mental and physical disturbances. What we hope to nourish through our practice is mental and physical relaxation so that we can experience inner and outer harmony without trying to be perfect. Also, one of my yoga teacher Baron Baptiste use to say, “There is no such thing as a perfect yoga pose, only a healthy yoga pose…what is healthy for you?”
- Less is often more. There is a saying “do less and be more”. What this means is to be present and mindful in our practice. Focus on the quality of your postures and practice rather than the quantity. Often in our yoga practice, we try to perform many postures but as we practice, we do the postures quickly with little attention and awareness. When we practice like this the yoga becomes mechanical and habitual. Often when we try to practice too many postures in a practice we lack the ability to work deeper in the pose and lose integrity. Practice doing less and become more conscious and aware of the thoughts, movements, energy, strength, stability and stillness that arises in the moment.
- There is no hurry. To reap the physical, emotional and mental benefits of our yoga practice we need to slow down and let our body feel the sensations of the posture. This includes all 3 stages of a yoga posture – coming into it, holding it and coming out of it. When you’re in the holding stage, take some time to refine it, whether you do it yourself or have your teacher assist you. Cultivate patience and spend some extra time consciously breathing in the postures. Like the late and great BKS Iyengar says “The pose begins when you want to leave it”.
- Let go of the need to over power or over exert your body. Instead, practice these two qualities: steadiness and ease. Embrace mental ease by breathing deeply and slowly as well as having an attitude of gentleness. At the same time, you can be firm in your practice and postures while maintaining that stillness and steadiness, especially while holding the yoga pose. Also remember yoga is not a competitive sport; it is a healing system for the body, mind and the energy system. Practicing with gentleness, firmness and careful attention can lead to a peaceful mind, removing any aggression which can push you too aggressively in the yoga postures and can cause injury.
- Have a fresh attitude. Each time we practice yoga it is a new experience and therefore we can be open to whatever the experience brings us. We can allow ourselves to be vulnerable which gives us an opportunity to try new things that we feel is right for us in those moments of our yoga practice. We can let go of our previous experiences and go with the flow. We can practice with a beginner’s mind and allow the practice to teach and guide us, embracing a sense of humility, love and joy for our yoga practice. This keeps our practice fresh.