If you are a yoga lover and are consistent in your practice, congratulations; you made one of the most rewarding choices in life. You are on a path to better your body, mind, and spirit. But if you are like most lovers of yoga, you may have reached a point where you feel you need to get more out of your practice. Especially those in the intermediate level, most yogis hit this point, often called a plateau.
Well, if this sounds anything like you, worry not, because this post is here for your rescue. Whether you practice alone, at a public studio, or with friends in a yoga club, there are lots of ways to up your game in yoga. Here are some tips on being extra with your yoga so you can take your practice to the next level.
1. Less Practice More Often
One of the things you can do to advance your yoga practice is to practice more often, less long. If you are used to practicing 30 minutes for two days a week, you can switch this up and practice 20 minutes, 4 days a week. If there’s some free space in your home, keeping a yoga mat rolled out and ready will motivate you to stretch out more regularly. If you are environmentally conscious like many people, the eco yoga mat lets you stretch and breathe without the guilty conscience that you could be harming the environment. These mats are recyclable and friendly to the environment in many ways. If time is a luxury you have, you can even stretch out in-between tasks at home like cooking or as you wait for dinner to be served.
2. Try a Yoga Retreat
A yoga retreat is another amazing option for those looking to advance their yoga routine to the next level. While yoga retreats are considered ideal for yoga training aspirants, students and intermediate trainers have their options as well. A yoga retreat will, in most cases, expose you to new elements and poses you may not have experienced in your practice. It also introduces you to other wellness subjects like anatomy, philosophy, proper nutrition, and self-discovery. Moreover, retreats help you meet new people and establish new social connections. With a positive mind, you will always come out of the retreat better, and with a new perspective.
3. Read More
Did we mention philosophy somewhere? Well, there are many philosophies in yoga practice, all of which are important to understand as far as your progress is concerned. But many yogis tend not to realize this. The best way to understand the yoga philosophy is through written material. There are many books written by experts in yoga. From Bhagavad Gita to Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the list is endless. Some of them also cover the 84 known asanas along with other techniques used in yoga. These texts will definitely help you advance your practice while giving you ideas to try something new.
4. Challenge Yourself More
Well, we already covered stretching more for less time. However, there is another way you can get more from your yoga practice, and that is by upscaling your challenge. To do this, you can consider staying longer on your poses. You can also dedicate more to the poses you struggle with, or those you consider an acrobat’s thing. Over time, you will find these poses easier, and more fulfilling to your practice.
5. Try Private Classes
As you might already know, visiting a yoga studio just once a week or twice will hardly help advance your practice. Moreover, we live in a hectic age and day where the 24 hours in a day are barely enough to accomplish everything we would want to. By enrolling in a private yoga class, you can slash the time you would have spent commuting to the studio and back. You will also get a yoga training program that is tailored to your needs, making it easier to advance to the next level. It helps take some stress from your life because your yoga teacher will come to you. Private classes can be offered physically, online, or through instructional material such as videos.
6. How About Yoga Workshops?
Finally, attending yoga workshops can be helpful when you want to dive deeper into a particular area of interest. If you want improvement in balancing postures, for instance, attending a workshop will teach you just that. You also get the opportunity to ask any burning questions you might have, and the answers will help in your progress!
And that’s just about it. To take your yoga to the next level, you may need to be a little extra. The above few points will hopefully be of help to you.
