Develop (or Hone) Your Home Practice

January 29, 2024/Jennie Williford CIYT
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We all LOVE our yoga class. Even when it is a lot of work, we know we feel better afterward. It is a time we can get away, have a moment to focus ONLY on our self, and have a chance to connect more deeply with how we move and how we feel. Wouldn’t you also LOVE to have that experience at home? Class is only once or twice a week, when you are in class you are subject to the plan and sequence of the teacher. Sometimes that is perfect for YOU, and sometimes not so much. To take the platform of learning from your class to a practice at home tailored just for you is where a lot of the magic of yoga can happen.

Iyengar Yoga in particular places a strong emphasis on this learning and practice model of yoga study. This is why our classes are full of instruction and adjustment. Every teacher hopes you go home with something you may try to practice. At first we may take our class as our only practice of yoga, but ultimately we want to take what we learn and be able to apply it to our own space and body at times that are most appropriate. We must learn within the context of a class, to develop awareness and alertness of our habits and tendencies. But once alerted, empowering ourself with tools to dig deeper into our own Self knowledge through a home practice of yoga is priceless.

Yoga’s definition is to “decrease the fluctuations and distractions of the consciousness.” In a class we have others around us, a teacher is speaking, we are being given a lot of information, you might need rest on the week we are learning standing poses, etc… All of those things, though helpful for the purpose of learning in a class, are definitely still distractions away from your own present mind and experience. Yes, teachers give you reminders of breath and action, but your mind is ultimately for you to notice and adjust. When you are at home, in a space you have created for yoga, at a time you have designated for yoga, those outer distractions are diminished and your inner teacher arises. 

The Yoga Place is excited to offer another opportunity to boost your current home practice or start you on the road to developing one. Understanding the power of sequencing, knowing how certain poses act on your mind and body and at different times, and learning what props can be useful for you are all topics to be covered in our upcoming Develop Your Home Practice Workshop on Feb 17-18.

All levels of student are welcome !! Our Develop Your Home Practice Workbook will be included and we will discuss many avenues to structure a practice, in the end honing your skill to develop a practice for yourself at home.

SIGN UP BEFORE FEB 1 and get 10% OFF by using the promo-code “Home10”

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Jennie Williford CIYT

Jennie Williford (CIYT Level 3) is a transplant to LaCrosse via Montana, Illinois, and originally Texas. Throughout her life moves and 5 trips to India, Jennie has acquired a well-rounded and multi-faceted approach to Iyengar Yoga since her start in 1998. Jennie loves the experimental and explorative nature of yoga in accessing deeper knowledge of the Self on every level. The practice of yoga can be intense and introspective, however as practitioners we can be light-hearted and open-minded in our discipline. Jennie is intrigued by the philosophy of yoga and hopes to share this depth of subject while teaching the physical and mental benefits that come from the practice of posture.