Building: Life & Practice
What comes to mind when you sit and ask yourself, what are you building in your life right now? What are you making stronger or more intense? Is it your family, career, health? When you consider what it is, ask yourself, what actions are you taking to build it.
This past weekend I was thinking about building in terms of our yoga practice. How are we building our practice each week? Not just within our postures, but our breath, meditation, our maturity and education of the practice. I have witnessed people of all experiences on my floor both in daily classes and from the teacher training lens. Time is not the largest factor in a well-developed practice. It is the student’s who look for new experiences but also commit to repetition with reflection. It is the student’s who practice more frequently, even if the practice itself might be shorter. It is the student’s who bring the practices into their daily lives and not segment it just when they are on their mat. Yes, the mat practice is part of the ritual, but it is not the sum of the practice.
Let’s look ahead at how we can build our practice this week:
Meditation Suggestion: Often meditation is one of the most challenging practices. To be with ourselves and allow the mind to wander and continue to pull it back without a stream of stories attached to our thoughts. Perhaps try building your meditation practice by doing it every day this week. 5mins here, 15mins there. See how the consistency impacts your experience.
Breathwork Practice: This week I will open all practices with some form of building on the breath. It really depends on your breathwork experience where you begin. But consider this from a beginner’s mindset. It can be helpful to journal how you are feeling before you begin and after and perhaps you do this each day as well.
Inhale count of 4 > exhale count of 4 (repeat X 5)
Inhale count of 4 > small pause > exhale count of 4 (repeat X 5)
Inhale count of 4 > pause count of 4 > exhale count of 4 (repeat X 5)
Inhale count of 4 > pause count of 4 > exhale count of 4 > pause count of 4(repeat X 5)
Remember to always practice within your own limits and take care of physical and emotional well-being.
Wishing to learn more about the practice of yoga? Reserve Your Spot for the next 200HR yoga Teacher Training beginning September 2025 and become a Certified Yoga Teacher! Looking for more details? Email stephaniepower.ayc@gmail.com.
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With gratitude,
-Stephanie