How to Reclaim + Reinvigorate Your Yoga Practice

Let me start this "how-to" post with a little story: 

From the moment that I took my very first yoga class, I've been a 5-6 times per week practitioner. I'm pretty much an all-or-nothing kinda gal, so once I started, that was it--I never looked back (obviously). 

In the two years before leaving the DC/VA area, I had literally moved to be closer to the studio where I practiced and taught (and managed), and was a mere 2.5 city blocks away. I could pop over for a class morning, noon, or night, and it made taking someone else's class super convenient. It was yogi heaven. 

When we moved to the Cape, my yoga game changed a bit. I still practiced regularly, but as I got set up with a new teaching schedule and all of the studios where I practiced were farther away from where I lived--and because I often taught a class at the same times as the classes that I wanted to take--it became harder to take other people's classes. 

But what about a home practice, you ask? I love doing a home practice. I think it's amazing and before I started teaching. I used to do them all the time. But, since becoming a teacher, I've grown to really love being led by another teacher, so that I can turn off my teaching brain and become a complete student again. It's special to me and I can't get that same student-like feeling when I do a home practice anymore. 

So anyways, in our last home on the Cape, which was 30 mins from where we live now (in another town), I had gotten into a pretty good class-taking routine that, although less often than when I lived in DC, was allowing me to still take other teacher's classes 2-3 times per week (and do my own thing on the other days). 

Then we moved again in February, and my yoga routine was once again upset in a major way. I was focused on our house, I was [still am] driving much farther to get to the studios where I teach, and those classes that had been in my routine since moving to the Cape were no longer convenient. I couldn't figure out when and how to practice anymore, and I felt really lost. 

But here's the other thing: class or not, my yoga practice had gotten into a bit of a rut, anyways. I wasn't doing much exploration on my own anymore. Somewhere along the way, I had gotten so focused on all of the life stuff that I was dealing with, that my own practice took a back seat; I was just doing it because it's a part of who I am and what I do, but I wasn't going deeper and studying on my own anymore. And let me tell you, you're not very inspired as a teacher when you aren't exploring on your own. 

Then, a few weeks ago, I got to a breaking point. I was feeling bad about myself, grumpy, disconnected from my body, and burnt out, and I thought, I must reclaim my practice. This is not okay. I am feeling off and I need it back in my life in a good, regular, real way. 

So I reclaimed it. And the shift has been really profound, y'all. 

It's like a light was switched back on in the part of my brain marked "yoga." I'm excited, I'm practicing all the time, I'm thinking about it all the time (again), I'm super sore, and I'm feeling strong and connected. I haven't felt like this in a while, and it's amazing.

Thus, I wanted to share some of what I learned from this experience with you, so that you, too, can switch your yoga light back on (if it's off, of course...or if you just need to change out the lightbulb, perhaps)...

How to reclaim + reinvigorate your yoga practice when you're in a schlump: 

1. Decide approx. how many practices/classes you need to do per week in order to feel like you're back in a yoga groove.
Every day? 5 days per week? 3? Think about a time when you were really connected to your yoga practice and perhaps use that number as your starting point. Usually, when you're in a rut, it's because you aren't practicing regularly and/or you aren't taking classes that challenge you in the way that you need to be challenged (whether it's physically, mentally, energetically, etc.). 

2. Analyze your schedule and figure out when you can practice. 
Once you know how many times you'd ideally like to practice each week, look at your schedule and ask yourself, where do I have space in my schedule to practice? What chunks of time are available? Even if they're not 75 minute chunks of time--if they're only an hour or even 30 or 45 mins, take those chunks of time into consideration. 

3. Decide where/how you want to practice in those available time slots. 
Once you see where there is space in your schedule, look at the in-person classes that you'd like to take (at a studio, gym, etc.) and see if they match up with your available time slots. If they do, great! You can make them happen. If not, you're looking at a home practice or online videos (see below for a note about online videos).

Online classes:  If you feel that your home practice is stale, or you know that you can't get reinvigorated through home practice, and/or the teacher-led classes you'd like to take just don't match up with your schedule, I recommend signing up for a service that has online videos with teachers you want to learn from. I'm OBSESSED with YogaGlo right now, but have also heard great things about GaiamTV and YogaVibes. The best part about these online classes is that you can cater them to what you're working on and/or how much time and energy you have--you can do a 90-minute class, a 30-minute class, a 15-minute class, a class focused on headstand or handstand, etc. This has been a game-changer for me. 

4. Book your practice. Yes, BOOK IT!!! With yourself!
Once you've decided on your practice time and practice type (in-person class, home practice, online class, etc.), put it in your calendar as you would a doctor's appointment or client meeting. I give this advice a lot (for a lot of different things), but I find that for most busy people, if you don't book something with yourself, it will get pushed off/scheduled over. So book it. 

5, Show up at the time and place you scheduled with yourself. 
Yep, you actually have to show up. And when you show up, commit to being there. So if you're practicing at home, close the door, leave your phone on silent (in another room), and be sure you take savasana. If you're practicing at a studio, sign up and pay in advance so you'll hold yourself accountable. Do whatever you need to do to be sure you get there. 

6. Find something to work on/focus on. 
Whether it's a challenging pose, movement, transition, meditation technique, breathing technique, whatever, find something that you want to work on and focus on it. For me, right now, that's floating forward, handstand, and floating into handstand (not there yet, but that's why I'm working on it!). Being really into this and working on it every day (and seeing serious improvement) gets me excited to get on my mat and ready to go. It has really helped me get back into challenging myself. 

7. Mix it up. 
Take classes with new teachers, whether in-person or online. Try poses that you've never tried before. Try a new type of yoga, take a training, a workshop, or a special class. This will go a long way in re-inspiring you, and it's possible from anywhere now!

So there you go--that's what I've done, and that's why I'm super sore (almost everywhere) in a really great way right now. Plus, I think I've been a better teacher over the past few weeks, simply because I am so excited and inspired... (Although you'd have to ask my students to be sure about that ;) 

Good luck reclaiming your practice, everyone! Remember, it's a practice, so it will ebb + flow and you'll have ups + downs all throughout your life, but if you can intentionally make right now an "up," I promise you'll love it.