A Ten-Step Plan to Commit to a Yoga Practice for Lent

Hi,

Many of us have good intentions, but life gets in the way. Especially when ‘life’ includes dealing with a pandemic and three lockdowns (and counting).

Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Traditionally we give something up that we know is bad for us, such as alcohol, sugar, or chocolate.

However, what if we don’t give anything up this Lent, but take something up? And what if that something is a regular yoga practice?

For just over six weeks we can commit to a yoga practice and then see how we feel at the end of it. You with me?

Step 1 - COMMIT

Commit to your practice, starting from today/tomorrow! For these six weeks I’m going to advise you not to have a single day off. This doesn’t mean that you need to be doing an hour a day.

Each week you will have a ‘rest day’ when you will choose one or two of your favourite restorative poses and just do those.

Step 2 – PLAN

It’s best to have a rough plan of what your six weeks of home practice could look like. You could change it around each day of the week. Or you could choose a sequence and practice it every day and then change to a new sequence in the next week.

If you’re a relative beginner it’s best to incorporate a few standing poses into each practice, as they build up our strength for all the other poses.

Each sequence has a shape (see previous blog – the Secrets of Sequencing). Start with some poses to warm up the body, then move to some more energetic poses, and move to your peak poses. If you practice inversions, always make time for those, and then a few cooling down poses and then a five minute śavāsana.

Step 3 – GET SOME INSPIRATION

If you’re still not confident that you’ll know what poses to practice it might be worth investing in a yoga book which has some sequences in it (see previous blog – My Top 5 Yoga Books). Or you could look for inspiration from Iyengar yoga teachers on social media. There are plenty of sequences out there if you know where to look.

The secret to Iyengar yoga is the variation it offers. Other forms of yoga repeat the same poses for years until they are ‘mastered’. With variety we don’t neglect parts of the body, and also try to avoid bad habits building up. But if there are certain poses that you feel you ‘can’t’ do, don’t avoid them completely.

If, for example, you struggle with backbends practice Virabhadrasana 1, Virasana, Chatush padasana, and Bhujangasana on your elbows.

Step 4 – TELL EVERYONE

If we tell our friends and families of our commitment to a daily yoga practice, we’re much more likely to keep it up. Plus with everyone at home, there will be times when it will be tempting to think ‘there’s just no time’.

If your fellow householders all know that you’ve committed to your practice, they will understand that that time is ringfenced and non-negotiable.

Step 5 – CHOOSE A TIME

From experience I’ve found that it’s best to choose a time that you can commit to each day, especially during the week. That might be first thing in the morning, or perhaps straight after you finish work.

It’s best not to practice soon after eating a full meal, so that restricts what time is practical.

Step 6 – DECIDE HOW LONG TO PRACTICE FOR

I find it’s best to have a minimum practice time in my head. So if you’re just starting to commit to a home practice, that might be 20 – 30 minutes. If you’re more experienced, I find that 45 minutes is usually the minimum time required to fit in a whole practice.

But learn to know when to stop your practice. Also, be flexible. If you’ve hardly had any sleep, or are feeling unwell, put yourself in a supported pose, or even just do a 10-minute śavāsana.

Step 7 – PREPARE YOUR YOGA PRACTICE AREA

One advantage of all this Zoom yoga has been that we have now scoped out most of the places round the house – or the one place – where we can practice yoga. Get all your props and leave them neatly stacked in the area. Make sure you’ve got blankets and a sturdy chair in the vicinity. Make it as easy as possible for you to do your yoga practice.

Step 8 – HAVE FUN!

Think of your home yoga practice as a time to really tune in to your body. Try repeating the poses more than once. Try doing the poses slightly differently and see if you can feel a difference. Be questioning. You will probably have your teacher’s voice in your head with various instructions.

See if you can work out the effect of those instructions on the whole body. If you have Light on Yoga, try out some of the poses even if you’ve never done them before. BUT PRACTICE WITH CAUTION.

Step 9 – LET ME KNOW HOW YOU’RE DOING

As a yoga teacher I’m here to give you encouragement, to answer any questions and to cheerlead your achievements. You can email me, comment below, or follow me on Facebook and Instagram, where I am planning on giving some more home practice hints and guides to poses.

Step 10 – DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP

Having said it’s best to commit to practicing every single day, it’s also not yogic to get stressed and depressed if you have to miss a day.

The first step to practicing yoga are the yamas and niyamas, which are a set of values and ethics. So perhaps if you don’t have time for your physical practice you can practice ahimsa (non-violence) to yourself, by allowing yourself a rest.

Poppy x