By Ntathu Allen

Your time is precious. We live in a fast paced life. Every second counts. Yoga is designed to create space and openness in your body, and ultimately give you back your sense of time and perspective. To practice yoga can be seem as a luxury, another demand on your time. However, the way we live our lives, the time you spend practicing yoga also has to be an effective use of your time. Otherwise, why do it? Why would you do something, if you were not getting something back, seeing a result?

I believe yoga is a personal journey. It is an inner and outer expression of your basic needs to be fit, feel happy and be healthy. In fact, the more you practice yoga and make it part of your lifestyle, the more you realise just how powerful a system of change and transformation yoga is. I have seen students lives turn around by practicing yoga.

This transformation does not happen over night. It requires time, patience and energy. The very things which seem to be in short supply in today’s world.

In view of this, what can you do to make your yoga time more effective? What steps can you take to ensure you see a result, a positive change when you practice yoga?

Here are five tips for you to consider.

Five Tips To Make Your Yoga Poses More Effective

1. Respect your body. Recognise that your body is unique. No one else can do exactly what you do and how you do it. This applies to yoga poses. Your body may be more flexible in certain parts than others. This will effect how easy and comfortable you feel doing certain poses.

2. Nurture yourself. Use your yoga time as a time to nurture yourself. Yoga is a spiritual practice and a way for you to reconnect with your inner beauty and radiance. Each pose offers you a chance to get to know and love yourself on a deeper more intimate level.

3. Set the intention that you will be kind, loving and care for yourself whilst you practice. As you stretch and relax into the different postures, explore what is going on inside your body. What do you feel, what sensations are you aware of? If something negative, or unpleasant crops up, acknowledge the energy, and then lovingly let it go and refocus on your yoga pose.

4. Observe your thoughts. As you become more attuned to your energy, what thoughts, words do you say to yourself? Yoga encourages mindfulness. A feeling of being in tune and more aware of what is happening, in the here and now. Do you get frustrated, angry, upset, when you “can’t” get into a pose? Or do you have a attitude of curiosity and wonder at the shapes and movements your body makes?

5. Be open. You may arrive at your yoga lesson feeling tired and jaded – all you want to do is rest. The last thing you want is to do a energising yoga session. Be open. You may be tempted to go home. However, a strong yoga lesson may just be the tonic you need to revitalise and energise your system.

As you can see, yoga poses are more than just physical exercises. Each time you move your body into a different pose, you give yourself time and space to explore, reconnect with yourself on a more subtle energetic level. By taking time to incorporate any of the five tips – Respect your body; nurture yourself; set your intention; observe your thoughts and be open – you enable yourself to go deeper and get more out of your yoga practice. So next time you are in a pose which you may find challenging, or even in your favourite pose – breathe, take your time and remember to follow these tips.

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From Ntathu Allen, The Yoga For Stress Management Consultant