What does an effective yoga practice mean? Yoga can do all sorts for us and depending on how you feel in this particular moment, what you need can be different to others.
What I like to call an effective practice can come down to one or all of these things.
- Focusing on the whole body (full body movement)
- Getting into that Calm Yogic State (the way you feel after an amazing class)
- Releasing emotions so you feel lighter
- Nailing a yoga pose and feeling a huge sense of achievement.
I would class all of these things as an effective yoga class and yes you may be able to get all of these in 1 sitting BUT that could take a very long class, so how can you do with little time?
My first question would be to look inwards and see what your body and soul desire. (yes I have been watching Lucifer on Netflix). Is it peace? Is it movement? Is it strength?
Whatever comes up for you keep that as an affirmation during your practice. For example… I am calm, I am strong, I am loosening my body. Whatever it is, sit and repeat it 3 times and then let’s get into the practice.
Your Effective Yoga Class
The physical part of yoga is actually used to release stored up energy and loosen the body so that we can sit in meditation for longer. With that in mind an effective yoga class should have all of the following:
- forward bend
- backbend
- side bend
- twist
- hip opening
- inversion
- breath work
- meditation
It may seem a lot but actually you can do all this in just 5 minutes if you really want to and this is a great way to start your at home yoga practice.
We will be doing this live in our Facebook group (CLICK HERE TO JOIN) on Wednesday 30th November (I will add the replay here after) but here is a basic description.
- Come to a seated position, hands on knees, close the eyes, take a couple of deep breathes with your affirmation and remember to really feel this during your practice, feel the strength or calmness, whatever you chose.
- Inhale the hands up and side bend (1 hand reaches to the floor, the other up and over). Repeat on the other side
- Inhale the hands up, gentle twist to one side, lengthening through the spine and repeat on the other side.
- Come to all 4’s, downward facing dog and come to standing at the top of your mat.
- Take a Sun Sal A
- Finish in childs pose (or seated with a quick guided meditation or sit in silence for a minute)
This is a great sequence for a full body class if you have limited time. The longer you practice, the more energy is released and the calmer you MAY feel but this varies for everyone. If you find a pose that feels particularly good in this sequence, stay there a little longer, release a little deeper, see what comes up.
Doing this daily will have you seeing and feeling great results.
If you are looking for more 5 minute yoga classes then take a look at our FREE yoga journey to create a yoga habit. With 28 days of 5 minute classes to help you stay consistent and see those magical calm moments that can come from yoga. Click the link below to sign up for FREE now.
