3 Things to Remember When Practising Yoga

I have been practising yoga on and off for a good 6 or 7 years now, which is quite a long time, but it's only in the past year that I've been taking it a lot more seriously. It's only since I've been taking it more seriously that I've realised there are a few things that you have to learn and accept if you want to go further with yoga:

Ujjayi (oo-jah-yee) breath is vital in yoga. This is continuous movement of air in and out of your body, almost as if it's a waterfall, never stopping or hesitating. It is difficult to sustain some of the poses in yoga, and your muscles are working hard, therefore ujjayi breath makes sure you continue breathing to continue taking in oxygen. It also allows your mind to concentrate on this specific task in an attempt to keep your mind calm. Yoga is not only for the body, it is also for the mind. It's very common to hold your breath when holding difficult poses or when you are concentrating too hard, if you realise you are doing this, just gently try to breath in and out, slowly. If it means you have to loosen your pose slightly, that's no problem, you'll get there. Yoga is all about progress.

You are where you are. By this I mean in your poses. Some people are more flexible than others, you can't help your DNA. Someone who has just started could be more flexible and find some poses easier than yogis who have practised for years. With yoga, you leave your ego at the door, it is not an activity to compete in; you wont benefit from it and you could end up hurting yourself. Like I said, yoga is all about progress: if you have to start off in vriksasana (tree pose) with your foot on your ankle, it's okay, you will gradually lift your leg as you continue to practise. Yoga is about focussing on yourself, mind and body. 

Yoga is more than just an exercise. Yes, yoga is a physical activity, however, with this activity comes life teachings as well. During yoga you learn to focus your mind, keep your attention to yourself and find the strengths and limitations of your body. These are all applicable in daily life: if you feel like your thoughts are getting overwhelming, focus your mind, concentrate on your breath; if someone is doing something differently to you, acknowledge it, but don't let it make you do something you feel uncomfortable doing; and learn when your body is telling you that you are over or under doing it, if you need to walk around and go for a stretch after sitting down too long, do it! There are loads of chair variations of yoga poses too that you can do if you're stuck at a desk at work.

These are just a couple of things I've realised I need to understand if I want to get more out of yoga. I'm sure there are many more (feel free to comment them), and hopefully as I practise I can identify these too. The important thing is to keep your eyes open: notice what is changing and what you are starting to understand, so you can see your progress.