Challenge yourself

To go deeper into your practice of yoga, it is necessary to challenge your body-mind-spirt on occasion. Start off your practice with postures that make you feel strong and confident in your self, getting your whole body warmed and energized. Then add one or two postures to your flow that bring you to your edge, postures you feel you “can’t” do, postures you normally avoid. Move slowly into these challenge postures, focusing the mind on the breath and the body. Feel what is happening in the body without the temptation to react, judge, or criticize. Breathe, breathe, breathe, and let go of the “I can’t”. Take yourself right to your edge, breathe some more, and see if you can go just a tiny bit more. Give yourself permission to bail out at any time if the body (not the mind) is saying a big “no”. Challenge postures can bring up strong emotions, and it is important to be in a safe environment so these emotions can be fully expressed and released from the body.