How do I know if I should be practising certain postures?
As Western Yoga practitioners it is easy to think that progress in our practice is reflected in our ability to include ever more complex and challenging postures. For some practitioners this could be an appropriate goal. However, many of us come to Yoga later in life and would benefit from an alternative approach!
How to design an appropriate Yoga practice
When we use the concept of vinyasa krama to design our practices, there is a clear process for choosing the path that we take.
We start by identifying appropriate goals for our practice. These goals will normally be a mix of shorter and longer term aims.
If one of our chosen goals involves a particular posture we should first be clear that we can complete the appropriate preparation for it so that our bodies are ready for the work that follows. However, this is not the end of the story.
It is also essential that we can complete suitable counter-posture work before we attempt our goal pose. By doing this we can gain the most benefit from it and minimise the risks associated with the challenges it presents. If we discover that the counter-posture is beyond our current reach then this needs to be rectified before we work on our goal pose.
Time for a real life example!
A classic example of this can be seen by using headstand as our goal posture. To be able to practise this safely, the student should, usually, also be able to complete 6 rounds of cobra with the arms sweeping forwards (the classical choice of counter-posture for headstand) while still maintaining a steady breath throughout. An honest conversation with ourselves will often lead to the conclusion that, at least for now, headstand should not be included in our practice! It may also lead us to reassess our goals as we may find that focussing on other elements of our practice could, potentially, bring us greater benefits in the time that we realistically have available.
Take the time to create the right foundations
As Yoga students, this more structured approach to developing our practice can sometimes feel like a challenge as we may need to commit more time and energy in order to reach our ultimate goal. However, in the long run, our practice will be built on stronger foundations. This is why it is essential that we always define our practice goals for both the short and longer term. Without this clarity it is easy to lose our way and not make the most of our valuable practice time!