Looking through my (not that extensive) blog back catalogue, I can see the start of a trend on the subject of rest as well as developing a home yoga practice. There’s obvious links between the two. My recent holiday reading and podcast listening, indicated I’m not alone in having a focus on these areas. That’s unsurprising given the pace of modern life, the constant stimulation and the challenges when it comes to having a good so-called work/life balance.
I recently listened to a podcast where the founder of an award winning yoga YouTube channel, Brett Larkin, was being interviewed about her book Yoga Life: Habits, Poses, And Breathwork To Channel Joy Amidst The Chaos. She described feeling a fraud because she rarely got on the mat for her own personal practice or to a class. She was working full time alongside developing her YouTube channel, the mother of two small boys and nursing her Father at home through the end stages of cancer. She was desperately trying to make things work but some aspects she clearly could not change. This really resonated with me albeit with different circumstances.
Brett’s solution was to change her yoga practice. In her words “I needed a new kind of practice that could keep me afloat when I was drowning.”
There’s obviously a lot more detail in the book which I found a fabulous read (as you can see from all my sticky notes). In short Brett advises us not to over complicate yoga. Adapt and personalise the yoga to you, to support whatever is going on for you that day or during a certain period in your life.
Use the time available to you whether that is 5 minutes or 15 minutes. You don’t need to do a lot of poses. It could simply be a few rounds of Cat/Cow or lying down in Savasana and following your breath.
As another teacher, Lizzie Lasaster (I told you this is a theme) said in a recent Instagram reel:
“I can’t tell you what to practice, what your tight calves or grumpy psoas…needs today. I can’t tell you what your heart needs today. Because home practice isn’t a performance. Home practice is an open space. So I can only tell you how to practice. Get on your mat, close your eyes, find your breath and listen.”
I often mention how one of the benefits of yoga is developing greater body awareness and in doing so learning how we can best respond.
I remember one of my yoga teachers, Chrissie Joy, saying that if she didn’t get on the yoga mat every day then she would feel it physically and mentally. She would be quite grouchy! As Brett describes, this not only impacts us but those around us.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sometimes utterly horrified by the screen time on my phone. If I spent one-eighth of this on my yoga mat it would be so beneficial for my physical and mental health.
Rodrigo Souza who I recently learnt from on my Accessible Yoga Training has a similar approach to Brett. He talks about “yoga snacks”– short practices that you can fit into your day. For him, these practices offer a physical release from spasms caused by being in his wheelchair for long periods of time. I love that he describes them as “yummy”! Brett describes these short practices as sprinkling “yoga glitter” on your day.
The more you incorporate these little routines or rituals the more embedded they will become and the more they will replace (in my case certainly) mindless scrolling.
To use the first line of the poem I’ve read in class recently “Relax, release, refresh, renew” and the second line I’d add is “hop onto the yoga mat (or into the chair) and take some time for you.”
Since I've been back from holiday I've been prioritising getting on my mat more frequently just for me rather than to plan or teach classes. I definitely notice a difference on the days I do this. If you want to join me on this "yoga snack" journey do let me know how you get on. I love hearing where you’ve practiced yoga (in the dentist’s waiting room was a recent one) or how you've taken elements of the week's class and practiced at home.
I’m sure this won’t be the last I write on this subject…
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