Are You Keeping Safe in Your Yoga Practice?

In a typical Vinyasa flow class, we flow from one pose to the next according to our breath. This type of practice can feel invigorating, free and beautiful.

However, because this flow focuses on fluidity of movement the pace can sometimes be daunting especially for those who are new to the practice. While in the flow, one can also easily forget to practice mindfulness causing even those well versed in the yoga postures to forget proper safety alignment. Hence the evolution of Vinyasa style seen in recent years has slowed down even pausing in postures to close the gap. In a gym setting where time limits are always a factor (45 minutes to an hour versus the typical yoga practice being about an hour and a half) we still move slower for safety, but don't always have time to work on the nuances in the practice. This is why I always try to be specific about the postures with a focus on at least one important alignment theme each class and why I make myself available for questions after class. In addition it is as why I also started the Yoga Practice Spotlight in my Newsletter...which is now starting to turn into this small blog.

Please enjoy the posts, posting comments, or questions when they come up. I would love for other teachers to also chime in with their experience as well to mirror and exemplify the supportive nature of the yoga community in the spirit of what the yoga "practice" means.

Om Shanti,

Jamie Moretti, RYT