I used to believe yoga was rigid. You'd have to know a flow from start to finish and only do what the practice allowed you do. Whether you practiced ashtanga, hatha, yin, bikram, Iyengar whatever, I thought it was all one way and that was it. I believed that since i wasn't a teacher, I didn't know how you're meant to flow so I had to follow a video or go to a class if I wanted to practice - no exceptions. Even though that definitely helped me practice well right from the start, it made me dependent on it and didn't allow me to learn how to flow on my own. I would practice individual asanas, do exercises, but now that I think about it, I would never try to actually do a flow. Aside from when I go to a good yoga class where I learn more about my practice, my body and my breath, I've learned that I enjoy a yoga flow best when I'm at home, on my mat and have music playing - any music playing. That's how I learned to enjoy my practice. That's how I learned to flow. Through music. It doesn't have to be hard, intense or well thought out. Though form, pressure and alignment are all very important, once you know what each asana should feel like, look like and do for your body, you can find beauty in your practice. This of course is not as beneficial as actually going from a class and learning from a teacher - as I still do whenever I can - but when you keep it simple and flow from the heart, it feels almost theraupeutic. I know that many of you probably have this problem. When you're on your own you might not always know what you want to do and when you try, you get stuck. It happens to the best of us, but it doesn't have to be so tough to flow. Think of it as dancing in your bedroom. When no one's around, you're sitting in your room, playing some music, just being you. And what happens when a song you love comes on? You dance. You don't have to look good, the moves don't have to be amazing, but you love how it makes you feel don't you? Think of you flow as that moment of dancing alone in your bedroom. Make sure you know your asanas, keep it simple, get into some comfy yoga gear and pick a playlist. Doing this showed me a whole new way to practice and I loved it. It was comfortable, happy, stress-free and it made my yoga practice way more enjoyable.
Sometimes all you need is some music to help.
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