YOGA TIPS

KEEPING YOGA EXCITING

After a few months of Yoga practice, you are probably more flexible than you ever were before. You may have even lost a few inches off of your waistline. "But what next?" you may ask. You feel you’ve reached a plateau and the exercises no longer seem interesting or challenging...in essence you’ve become bored.

Many yoga ashrams (schools) offer different levels of classes, usually a beginner class, an intermediate class, and an advanced class. Some ashrams may even offer specialized yoga instruction for ailments or weight loss. You may want to investigate one of these classes to broaden your range of yoga asanas (positions) and challenge yourself to more advanced practice.

If you have been practicing at home, maybe you should join a class. Trained Yogis are generally a vast fountain of knowledge and can offer you new and exciting ways to practice. If joining a class is either not possible or not appealing, you could even invite a few friends over (space providing) and start your own mini-class with a video program or book.

Another way to keep yoga exciting is to try the different forms of yoga. Most people usually only practice one form, but others exist that can broaden your knowledge of yoga and challenge your body. Some of the many forms include Hatha, Ashtanga, Bikram, and Vinyasa. Some yoga practitioners even may explore Tantric yoga with their partner.

Exploring other yoga asanas can also be very interesting and challenging. There are virtually hundreds of different postures you can try (based on your experience level). Many positions can be performed no matter what your experience level and can be modified as your flexibility increases to make them more challenging.

You may also want to know more about the spiritual aspects of yoga. There are literally thousands of years' worth of material on the subject. Many people feel the spiritual side of yoga can be the most fulfilling and keeps them interested and in high spirits. Certain schools of yoga even focus more on the spiritual aspect of yoga than the physical. Exploring the Chakras can also be an interesting task. Chakras are the portals and channels where energy flows through our bodies.

If you have gotten to an advanced level of yoga and now find yourself disinterested (which is unlikely by this point), why not consider becoming a yoga instructor? Many ashrams and yogis offer instruction for students who wish to become an instructor. Sharing your knowledge and journey through yoga with others can be enlightening not only for your students, but will allow you to share your joy with others.

By changing up your yoga routine from time to time and alternating yoga workouts with aerobic exercise, you can also keep yoga fresh and invigorating. A program of Pilates could also be added to your exercise regime to keep it new. Pilates is very similar to yoga and the new mix of exercises can keep your entire exercise program interesting and lively.

In essence, there are as many ways to keep yoga interesting as there are forms of yoga. Deciding which route is best is up to you. Staying with any exercise program is hard. Yoga, however, helps you develop discipline and many people become lifelong practitioners because of yoga’s low impact and long-term health benefits.

Christine Dignam

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