Here on the five “things”:
1. Quality over quantity: I know, it is a pretty common saying in regards to just about anything, but ask yourself do you really practice it on a regular basis?
2. The real definition of “Workout”: More than the act itself. This point is SUPER important.
3. Progression Plan: Know your weaknesses and starting point. Make a sustainable action plan.
4. Get a movement assessment: How does your body function with movement?
5. Don’t pride through pain: Does it hurt? This is a yes or no question. Anything other than a no, is a yes.
6. And a sixth point to summarize: Use all of your tools, all of the time!
So the first point, quality over quantity. It is a common phrase that we use when we are trying to simplify our busy, multitasking lives or improving the quality of interpersonal relationships. Maybe you have heard it now and then in a yoga class. How often, though, has anyone actually shown you, or described even, what quality is? Or what taking care of your body feels like? In fact, there are a lot of mixed signals in group active yoga classes (or any fitness class as well), and the strongest signals are pushing us to not look weak, to fight through the fatigue and the pain, and keep going. Unfortunately, once form breaks down (if it was ever there at all!), more reps reinforce bad patterns.
Another concern with fast moving yoga classes are that the foundations of movement are skipped. There is an assumption that the practitioner will figure it out as they go and that they will be okay. It is beautiful to flow with the breath, but sadly, correct alignment and movement patterns are not a naturally intuitive thing for the body. Our bodies can become accustomed to compensatory patterns that only the trained eye can pick out sometimes. The weak points in the body (maybe it is the knees, maybe the lower back, etc.) repeatedly get stressed until pushed to the last thread and injury occurs. As someone who has learned a lot through personal injury, I would recommend learning from the mistakes of others when it comes to taking care of your body!
It is important to prepare for an intense vinyasa class or power flow like you would an athletic event, and that doesn’t mean by just doing more yoga classes. It is important to correct your movement patterns FIRST, otherwise you will only accelerate your body’s weak points to injury when taking it through extreme ranges of motion during a yoga class.
My advice... diversify the types of yoga classes you go to. It is rare, but there are some yoga teachers out there who really know the body. There are also teachers out there who instill such joy and peace in their classes that even if the class is void of alignment work, there are many other benefits. In general though, start slow so you can feel your body, and progress to adding more speed. This will allow the nervous system to develop, which I will talk about more in the following weeks. When it comes down to it, if you can find contentment in each yoga pose you assume, you will not plow past the point in which you should be in that moment. If you cultivate contentment and patience, you will be okay with modifying your sun salutations as a beginner, and also as a more seasoned practitioner who has learned something new or experienced a change that requires you to refine your technique. I encourage you to begin taking in the meaning of quality over quantity whole-heartedly in your yoga practice, as well as any other activity you do!
Cory and I go into more detail during our workshops and have an actual workout to go along with these points we want to make, but feel free to post any questions that come up below!
