I have been practicing yoga since I was 18, and during that time my practice has morphed and readjusted more times than I can remember. There have been seasons where I would be present in a studio every single day (teaching or practicing), and other times when I would be travelling or absent from my practice completely.
Over the years different parts of yoga have spoken to me – physically challenging āsana, meditation, chanting, yin yoga, rest, prānāyāma – sometimes in collaboration with one another, other times in isolation.
In Sanskrit, the language of yoga, the word Sādhanā means conscious daily practice. It is often interpreted as “discipline”, “habit” or “routine”, but I personally find all those words a little stale and strict, implying failure if not upheld with rigidity.
Instead, I try to think of Sādhanā as a form of ritual, a way to take care of myself and establish practice that can support me during the good times and the hard. Because it’s all too easy to practice when life is going well… much more challenging when the rug is pulled out from underneath us.
Which is exactly why developing a Sādhanā is recommended; so that we have something familiar to hold on to as the world continues to feel wobbly.
For me personally: short, morning meditation practice has kept me sane for over a decade.
And in the last few years, as the world has changed irrevocably, I’ve found my āsana practice moving away from full-length and constant studio visits, to a more intimate and private practice, for a shorter amount of time.
While longer practices are incredibly important, and wonderful, we don’t always have 60-90 min to dedicate to yoga.
And as we know, a little goes a long way.
So!
That is why I have created the Daily Movement Challenge, which consists of 28 short classes (15 mins each), to encourage Sādhanā.
I have pre-recorded 28 video classes (well, actually 31 because there are a few bonuses) that will be uploaded each day during the month of May.
The classes vary between slow vinyāsa, yin and there are even some pilates classes in the challenge! All classes are around 15 min long each, making it as achievable as possible to practice a little bit each day.
This is all completely free for members of my website.
Classes will appear in the Class Library and on a new page specifically for the challenge here.
We start on Monday May 1st! See you there.
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