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I was teaching class recently and, after leading students through a strong standing sequence, I offered a few options such as Child’s Pose, Cat and Cow, and Down Dog. As I did so, I mentioned that their awareness of which option served them best, based on how they felt, was the genesis of their personal practice. One of my students laughed and commented that if I thought they were spending a full hour practicing on their mat at home, I was going to be disappointed.
It struck me that “personal practice” is a phrase many of us hear in yoga without knowing exactly what it means. Does it need to happen every day? Does regular class attendance count? Does it require a particular structure? Some yoga lineages provide clear expectations around what practices students should participate in outside of class and how often, such as in Ashtanga. Most, however, do not.
I think a lot of us imagine a personal yoga practice to be something long and complex that requires special knowledge or expertise. The problem with that is, in the midst of all your other life responsibilities, you might assume a personal practice is out of your reach. But anyone who feels better after yoga class and wants to experience some of that magic on their own can do so.
What Is a Personal Yoga Practice?
A personal practice will look and feel different for different people, making it difficult to define. Just because the poses (asana) are the best known aspect of yoga, doesn’t mean that’s the totality of your practice. It could also include meditation, breathwork (pranayama), or study of ancient yoga texts.
To me, no matter what your practice looks like, it includes several key characteristics:
1. Intention
Perhaps you show up to your yoga practice to feel stronger in your body, calmer in your mind, and more present in your life. Or perhaps you come for more philosophical aims such as self-realization, liberation, or transcendence. Whatever your reason, a personal yoga practice is shaped by your purpose.
Think of it as the same way an athlete’s training differs from plain old exercise or researching something on your phone varies from simply scrolling. A clear intention shapes your personal yoga practice by helping you decide what it will look and feel like. If your goal is mental clarity, your personal practice might consist of seated breathwork and meditation. If you aim to balance the hours you spend sitting at your desk, you might lean toward vinyasa and backbends. If your focus is stress management, restorative poses and yoga nidra might be among your go-tos.
2. Mindfulness
If self-guided practice is new to you, it can feel impossible not to be present. In fact, your mind will probably be TOO involved, intruding regularly with questions such as, “Am I doing this right?” or “What should I do next?”
But over time, your favorite poses and practices will become smoother and more familiar. Even when repeated to the point of becoming routine, they’ll feel the opposite of “going through the motions.” You’ll even find yourself remaining (mostly) present to its mundane aspects. That could include the feeling of your feet on the mat, your breath, and other awarenesses flitting through your mind and body.
I also believe that a guided class can be part of your personal yoga practice when you listen to your own internal teacher as keenly as the one at the front of the room.
3. Regularity
Obviously things you repeat have more of an effect than things you do only once or twice. You don’t brush your teeth once and consider the task done. You don’t hug your loved ones once and assume they know how you feel about them for eternity. Similarly, there’s a reason why the hashtag #yogaeverydamnday exists. The power of your practice stems from repetition.
A personal yoga practice doesn’t need to take place every single day. But it does need to have a regular—albeit realistic—place in your schedule. That could look like a few minutes of meditation every morning or your favorite restorative pose every night. Maybe it’s 10 minutes of breathwork during your work day every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
4. Scope
The final criteria is, to me, the most fundamental. Your personal yoga practice should transcend the mat.
If your objective is to feel better in your body, you want that all day long and not just during your practice. If your aim is to feel calmer and be less reactive, you want to be able to draw on that in traffic or in an argument. After all, what’s the point of training your awareness, focus, compassion, or equanimity if you don’t employ them in your life and relationships?
