From my experience of developing my home practice as a teacher trainee I would say that it can feel quite challenging when you're not sure where to start and what to do. Plus its easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself to advance your asana practice to meet a perceived expectation that you might be setting yourself or holding onto subconsciously and especially within a timeframe which is in line with when the course ends.
Archive for category: Ashtanga
From Heather: Studio Reopening Update
Yoga has been our pillar of support during this turbulent year - Not just the asana and meditation practice, but also for keeping a sense of routine, healthy habits, community, and our connection with those who share this with us. Our priority for each and every one who joins us for their practice at Heather Yoga is that you feel very much part of a community and our journey.
From Heather: Lets Stay Together, COVID Update, Online Offerings Continue.
From this Thursday as the doors to our yoga centre temporarily close for a month, all of our online offerings will continue - multiple daily yoga classes, themed workshops, courses, and special events - beamed from our brilliant teachers homes direct into yours, and we will keep holding the space for our amazing community in the virtual sphere with much needed connection and supporting of each other.
A Moon Day Practice
Alternatively, taking the moon day as an opportunity to work on a different sequence might provide some insights that could inform your usual practice. On this note, I was introduced to Matthew Sweeney's moon day sequence some years ago and often practise a shortened version of it on moon days. In this sequence, much less emphasis is placed on the upper body in terms of the weight bearing on the hands that you find in the Ashtanga Primary Series or other common vinyasa sequences, providing a way of practising with less pressure being placed on the wrists and shoulders, and with more focus on the hips, lower back, and in opening the front of the body.