Hot Yoga: THERAPEUTICALLY

Afton Carraway guides us towards our most therapeutic practice…

Afton teaching Floor Bow pose

The 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises that we practice so devoutly were designed to prevent, address, and heal the most common modern-day ailments and conditions. However, you may find yourself at a point in your practice someday where you feel it’s doing more harm than good (usually due to outside injuries, misalignments, complacency, etc.). So what do we do then? How do we once again utilize the practice in a way that leaves us feeling healed, strong, and whole? The good news: it’s usually just a small adjustment, a shift in intensity or focus, or an increase in mindfulness and curiosity.

So how do we practice more therapeutically?

It all begins with staying curious about and connected to the experience you’re having when you step on your mat. Many of us have practiced for years, and oftentimes what happens is a gradual (and completely normal) comfortability with the sequence that can lead to less-than-mindful postures. Mix that with our tendency to “push and push and push” and you may find a couple body parts aching afterword.

Can we mindfully “do less” to achieve more? Absolutely! Paradoxically, it sometimes takes doing less in a posture to find a different in-road of engagement or to maximize the benefit of a posture. We believe many who attended Afton’s workshop this past weekend would attest that we used muscles in a way that didn’t “look” like much, but required an immense amount of strength, focus, and stamina. That coupled with being open-minded to new ways of experiencing your practice are all you need! Here are a couple concepts to carry onto your mat:

• Acknowledgment of your unique complexities and intricacies

• Attention and intention

• Proper alignment (for your body) created and supported by strength

• Allowing space for nuance from day to day

• Patience and consistency
  

Check out a few more photos from the interactive class and workshop!

*Disclaimer: If you’re experiencing pain in your practice, please reach out to your teachers for help. Each and every one of us is unique and may require certain amounts of personalization in order to experience ultimate health and longevity in our practice.