Personal Practice: What, Why, and How

It took me quite some time to end up with a personal practice. That seems to surprise people, but I think it's actually really common. A lot of people never begin to approach a personal practice at all. What is it and why would you want one?

Part of the confusion begins when we start to talk about what a personal practice actually is. "But I practice four times a week, and I practice for myself, isn't that a personal practice?" If it's led by someone other than yourself, I feel like it can't really be called personal. Please don't get me wrong: there are tons of benefits to going to led practices and you might choose to stop there because it's giving you what you need. In fact, most do stop there or wonder what else there is.

What I call a personal practice is one that is self-led, and while it might follow a general structure (you warm up before trying to throw yourself into, say, Wheel...) it has a ton of leeway that a led class just isn't going to have. This is not to say that you should abandon your led classes at any point, but expanding your practice might be the ticket.

Five years ago, when COVID shuttered yoga studios and the daffodils were in full bloom (they're a lot later this year!) some of us were thrust towards personal practices in a very real way. I had a LOT of difficulty with Zoom--not because I didn't like it, I just couldn't get the technology to work on my equipment--and as a result, even though I had done some personal practicing, virtually (pun intended) all of my practices became self-led, personal practices.

To be frank, having a long history of practice was helpful here, and being an actual yoga teacher even more so. I'm not sure I'd have been as willing or as able to experiment as I was at that time without those factors. More on that later. I found myself taking whatever time I had (which was more than I might have, since everything was closed AND I didn't have to build in drive time etc as I did when I was heading to a studio for practice) and dumping it into practice itself.

For me, this gave me the opportunity to explore poses more deeply than I had been able to in any led situation. I learned, for example, why Ustrasana (Camel) always felt like crap when I did it, and what to do instead. I learned that really really long Savasanas were absolutely transformative. I learned that those thought-stopping cliches ("if you can, you must" and "the pose you hate is the one you need the most" for example) were actually holding me back from progression rather than stimulating it. I learned how to more deeply link the breath with the movement, and how each inhale and exhale are intimately linked with the actions of each pose.

"Sounds great! How do I start?" That's sometimes the hardest part. If you can set yourself up in a small part of your place where you won't be disturbed for a little while, go ahead and do that. If it isn't ideal, so much the better because you get to practice in real life, not step outside it to do your practice. If your dog wants to join in, don't get frustrated but get curious about how that will change the way you approach the practice. Kids interrupt you? If they are well enough without you for a bit, remind them of that and keep going. If you're needed, address the issue and simply come back to your mat when you can.

"But what do I do when I get to the mat?" If you have been or are still practicing in a studio or led situation, then pay attention to the structure of the class and try to bring a similar structure to your home practice. Think of "ready, set, go" as a rule of thumb. Ready=figure out what your body is like now with gentle movement. Set=warm and prepare, maybe with Sun Salutations. Go=approach the strenuous movements once your body feels prepared. Take time to explore and workshop poses, transitions, and sequences that seem interesting to you. Rest when you need it.

After that? Ramp down. Start to do slower, more grounded, longer poses. When you feel ready, rest in Savasana. There will probably be a lot of lineage-specific teachers that will say that their structure is absolutely better than this haphazard way of approaching your yoga, but who is the practice for? How do you know what works best if you don't try things out? When you get back to a led class in-studio, you will have more information about yourself that you can use while you practice. This is a good thing!

One more note before I wrap up: trust yourself. You don't really need to be a teacher to practice effectively. You need to pay attention. Consider reaching out to a trusted teacher for a few private sessions to get yourself squared away with questions while you move towards a personal practice, and you can always schedule a private session periodically as you go as well! I would discourage you from trying to get all your answers during a group class, because teachers often have a lot on their plates and you deserve their attention and individual feedback. This is why I encourage those private sessions! If you don't know whether your favorite teacher does privates, ask and see. They might be willing, or they could be able to point you in the direction of an experienced teacher that does exactly what you need.

The benefits of a private practice are, I believe, absolutely worth the time and effort it takes to establish it. Enjoy the journey!