I wrote this about 4 or 5 years ago as an article published in what was then the New York Yoga Teacher's Association Newsletter. It is pretty simple but I think there are some good things in here for helping a practitioner get started in developing his or her own personal practice.
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Some Tips on Developing a Personal Practice
The real magic of yoga happens when you are alone. The practice of being with your body and your breath has a profound ability to transform. It is great to take a class and learn something new or just be guided through a routine. However, the actual event of yoga happening is fundamentally an experience of the practitioner connecting with his or her own life current. I cannot state this strongly enough: for a dedicated practitioner there is no substitute for doing your own yoga. Here are a few simple techniques that can help in the process of developing a personal practice.
To begin, you do not have to practice for 1½-2 hours every day. Often less is more. Think about brushing your teeth. Most of us spend a few minutes every morning doing this as part of a routine. You always have enough time to brush your teeth; if you don’t, you just do it a little later. And nobody would every consider brushing their teeth for 1½ hours once or twice a week. The benefits gained from a few minutes a couple of times a day are evident. A yoga practice is similar. The benefits are cumulative. Five minutes a day, every day, does more than two hours once a week.
How much time should you spend? You want to choose an appropriate amount of time: an amount that you can honestly carve out of your schedule and dedicate to your practice. This should enable you to practice every day without becoming obsessive. Coming up with excuses to avoid practicing may indicate that your practice is taking up more time than your schedule can permit. If you feel you can spend one hour every day, try starting with half an hour, taking 20 minutes for asana, and saving some time for savasana and pranayama. If all you have is half an hour try taking 15 minutes for asana and finish practicing within 20 minutes. Practice a little less than the amount of time you feel you have. Then, on those days when you can only spend 5 minutes, you will know you can still give yourself a balanced session. Keeping to your schedule should not bring added stress into your life. If you choose an amount of time that is appropriate you will be able to maintain your daily practice. Then, when you really have the time to spend two hours practicing, you can go ahead and have fun.
If you already have an established personal practice, and are spending 1½-2 hours every day, that is great. However, it is important to understand that there are some benefits to shorter practices. It takes a lot of discipline to keep a practice concise. Being concise makes you focus on what is essential and forces you to prioritize. With this kind of focus you can make your practice about something specific. Here is an example: if you woke up one morning and felt your rib cage was restricted you could create a balanced sequence focused on spinal twists or side leans, depending on the needs of your body. If your low back felt funky you could focus on low back stretching and strengthening. When your practice sessions are concise and focused the results are more effective. This process will deepen your understanding of how sequencing can maximize the affects of a practice. And you will learn how to adapt the practice to your own changing needs.
The most important thing to remember when developing a personal practice is why you do yoga in the first place. Working away at yourself in the hopes of achieving perfection is not what yoga is about. Yoga is actually not something you do; it is an experience of the life that you are. Practice should be done for the sheer enjoyment of practicing. If this is occurring the benefits will come. Being able to enjoy Life happening in you as You will have an impact on all that you experience. You will begin to find the things in life that inspire you, and this will breathe new life into your practice on and off the mat.
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