Yoga Therapy

I’ve been practicing for three years now, ranging from 3 days a week to every day. Never in my life did I think I would be one of those "yoga people." And if it ever means kissing a guru's feet or getting one of those simpering, faux-peaceful voices I'll still never be one of those yoga people.

Nevertheless:

This year I will practice every day, push myself farther, but – most importantly – look to yoga for focus and stability, as a tool to keep myself centered in the joy and love that can be life.

Because truly, my professional life is challenging me. Ha! My professional life is driving me fucking bonkers. There's not a lot of joy and love there, at least at the moment.

Help me yoga! Make me sane! Is there an opening mantra for that? Remind me that my experience on this earth goes beyond whether my job is going well, beyond whether my boss is driving me crazy, beyond whether my income increases commensurately with my experience.

Those things are important, of course, so I also look to my daily practice to give me the strength to continue fighting at work.

To demand all this of “yoga” starts to become wishy-washy, like when you say a word so many times it starts to sound funny and lose its meaning. So what are we talking about here, specifically?

I will carve out time each day to exercise my body and mind by practicing asanas, poses designed to stretch and strengthen all the muscles of the body. I will start each practice by setting an intention, both for the practice itself and for the day ahead. For example, tonight when I practice I will follow an intention to be patient and calm. I plan on holding the poses long and filling the space with slow, deep breaths.

I plan to write about the in's and out's of it all, micro and macro, here.

My daily practice will be a mixture of modified DVD workouts, self-guided home practice, and classes – when I can afford them. But that's the true challenge: How to push myself in a home practice. I've been mostly practicing at home for a year, but always find I get farther faster by going to classes. How can I turn up the heat all by my lonesome?