This coronavirus got us all at home, doing the yoga. Which is awesome, but ever wonder if you’re really progressing in your practice?
I recently wrote about the benefits of recording yourself during your time on the mat for Rise + Vibe Yoga. It’s been a huge help in my personal practice. As mentioned, I discovered little things I can improve upon in some of my postures, such as my weight distribution in forward folds or my back extension in downward dog. But I also found some nice surprises--my revolved triangle included a decent amount of rotation in my torso and straight legs. It's notoriously one of my hardest poses. And my utthita hasta padangustasana didn’t look so bad, either.
I’ve since filmed myself in practice several times, not searching for perfection in form but rather noting spacial position and body awareness. I look at how my practice differs at different times of the day. I find that I’m super stiff in the morning, so I may look rigid during morning flows, but a later afternoon practice allows me to get deeper into postures.
A great way to improve your home practice is to record yourself in postures and study them. I recommend checking in with your practices regularly but not too often--once every few months may be right for a few postures, maybe others will take longer to improve upon. Either way, aim for awareness, not perfection. Ah, what a great mantra for life dontcha think?