Beginning a Home Yoga Practice

Practicing on your own
How to begin a practice
What to practice
What to do if there is a problem
Hints and cautions

General guidelines
Groups
A good order within a practice
Create awareness through practice

WHY BEGIN A YOGA PRACTICE

Practicing on your own

Is very rewarding
Gives you a chance to explore at your own rate
Allows you to practice exactly what you need that day
Allows you to practice for as long as required
Gives you independence and confidence
Makes you a much better student
Is the natural next step that will deepen your understanding of yoga and yourself

How to begin a practice

Start small! Commit to 5-15 minutes maximum even if you know that you will do more
Select a clean, quiet place (7’ x 3’ minimum) in a portion of a room and use it only for yoga
Select a time of day when you will not be interrupted
Practice at the same time each day
Early morning is usually best, however some like an evening practice
Begin with an empty stomach
Food may be eaten 30-60 minutes after asana
It is advisable to bathe or shower before you practice

What to practice

Practice what you need
Practice what you like
Pracitce what you don't like
Practice your routine
Practice what you learned in class
Practice the sequences from Light on Yoga & Yoga and The Path to Holistic Health by BKS Iyengar; Yoga a Gem for Women by Geeta Iyengar; and Yoga the Iyengar Way by Silva, Mira & Shyam Mehta
Practice many ways of doing the same pose
Practice what you know

What to do if there is a problem

Hints and cautions

Do not practice in the sun or after being in the sun for an extended period of time
You will know the correctness of your practice by its effect
Always do Savasana at the end of any practice lasting more than 30 minutes

PRACTICE GUIDELINES

General guidelines

Keep major groups of poses together (eg. pracitce series forward bends together). Do not split them, except in the case of Sirsasana and Sarvangasana.
Within a group of poses work from easier poses to harder ones.
Sirsasana and Sarvangasana should be practiced every day, with at least Adho Mukha Svanasana, Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana in the chair or Adho Mukha Vrksasana in between.
Sarvangasana and variations generally should be practiced for the same duration as Sirsasana.
Do Savasana regularly. Do Savasana in every practice longer than 30 minutes.
Do restorative poses toward the end of your practice during morning practices.
If time is short do Sarvangasana and variations.
End your practice with a symmetrical pose (before Savasana).
Finish twists with a symmetrical pose.
With the standing pose group, begin with the open standing poses. Continue with the revolved ones. Then do the twisting ones. Finish with the head down ones.

Groups

Standing
Backbends
Twists
Seated Forward Bends
Arm Balances
Inversions
Sitting Poses
Abdominal Poses
Restorative

A good order within a practice

Standing
Sirsasana
Backbends
Twists
Seated Forward Bends
Sarvangasana
Halasana
Restorative
Savasana

Create awareness through practice

Work from the ground up
Position of parts
Action of parts
Alignment
Stretch
Expansion
Observation

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