If you have an Instagram account, you’ve probably seen (or posted) those #TransformationTuesday pictures showing linear progress in a certain pose. Sorry to burst that bubble but your practice progress is not linear.
You can wake up every day and practice the same pose. You expect to get deeper in the pose each day but you’re finding that some days you feel like you are losing progress or flexibility/strength. Suddenly you panic and think, “What am I doing wrong?!”
First, you may not be doing anything wrong! Our bodies change from day to day. Some days we may feel extra bendy and others make us feel like lying on the couch all day. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not progressing as fast as you want or expect. Try to throw the expectations out and just breath and move into the poses that feel good for your body.
There is one BIG reason people don’t make progress. It’s all in the warm-up! I’m telling you right now, the biggest secret to making progress in your practice is not only to practice regularly but to warm-up your body properly. If you want to achieve any backbend, you must warm up your back body, giving yourself a lot of time and space to allow the body to open. You also have to think about all the other body parts that are involved in that backbend such as the legs, arms, shoulders, etc. Those body parts need to be warm and ready to move also, otherwise your body won’t open the way you want.
Another reason for not making progress in your practice is layering. I know I covered layering in another post; however, layering is imperative to your practice. If you are using layering in your warm-up and throughout your practice, your body will be happy to open and move with your breath. If you’re goal is a deeper wheel pose, for example, you need to be sure to warm-up the back, legs, arms, and shoulders. Then, as you move into more difficult poses or longer holds, think about using variations of those basic/warm-up poses to help target those areas gently.
Finally, be patient! This is the hardest lesson to learn. My ultimate goal is to touch my toes to my head in Scorpion pose (specifically in Pincha Mayurasana aka Forearm balance). This is an extreme backbend so I am careful to warm-up and layer my regular practice to open my back and prepare my legs, arms, shoulders and core before even attempting it. Sometimes I like to try this pose in public (like at Disney) but that’s already after I warmed up before leaving the house and a short warm-up before the picture. Take a look at my “Progress” pictures of my Scorpion below:
Jan 28 Feb 8 Feb 11 May 21 Oct 18 Oct 22
The first picture (Jan 28) was taken during my teacher training, right after we had been practicing for a couple hours and I was super warmed up, hence the deep backbend. I don’t go back to that depth until October because my body just simply wasn’t ready.
Don’t ever just throw yourself into an extreme pose like Scorpion without warming up and layering your practice to allow your body to open slowly. Remember to be patient with yourself and make sure you take time to let your body rest and recover. It’s better to be slow and safe rather than try something too soon and end up injured. Be kind to yourself – your mind and body. It’s natural to feel frustrated when you are not making progress in your practice, but remind yourself of why you are practicing! The benefits you gain from calming the mind to tuning into your mind/body/breath connection is the why. “Yoga is not about touching your toes, it is what you learn on the way down.”
Have a great Friday! See you next week.
Peace and Love,
Melissa
A Yogi's Mind 