A Deliberate Practice

"Do your practice and all is coming" Sri K Patthabi Jois

To learn any new skill or get better at anything  you need to practice, practice, practice. There isn’t much debate about that not even in yoga.But here’s what you might not know: that the quality of your practice is just as important as the quantity.

This concept is known as deliberate practice, and it’s incredibly powerful.

Deliberate means ;done consciously ,with purpose and intention.

A deliberate yoga practice requires that you stay focused on what you are doing with an unwavering concentration. Not allowing  your mind to drift away from the practice to what you did before class or what you have to do after class.To immerse yourself so fully that you're momentarily not thinking about anything else.

If you want to start working with an intention and purpose  in your practice then you first want to take a look at what it is that you are hoping your practice will help you achieve. Why are you doing yoga;what brought you to class; why are you on your mat; is it to find more balance and peace; encourage more health and wellness; build more strength and flexibility in your body; learn to focus your mind; find a deeper sense of meaning and purpose; cultivate more love, compassion and kindness in your life, or maybe it’s something else?

There will be times that yoga class will not be fun that you will have to  push your mind or body to its limits, there will be for sure moments that you will feel like quitting. The key to that is to challenge yourself even more and thus develop further and further .

This sounds like a lot of work.  So why would you ever want to do all of this deliberate practice stuff?

The rewards of adopting a deliberate yoga practice are many.

• Your mind will become calmer.  
• You will be able to focus on a task for longer and with more intensity.
• You will be able to handle stress a lot better.
• Your body will be more strong and flexible.  
• You will feel healthier.

Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are.

Rolf Gates

Shake Your Asana Playlist

Shake Your Asana and Diane's Favorite Songs

Let's Go by Calvin Harris

What Are You Waiting For? by Nickelback

Say HEY(I love you) by Michael Franti & Spearhead

Give Love by MC Yogi

Happy by Pharrell Williams

All Around The World by Justin Bieber

I lived by OneRepublic

Keep Your Head Up by Andy Grammer

Living In The Moment by Colbie Caillat

Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson

Send Your Love by Sting

If You're out There by John Legend

Imagine by Jack Johnson

Stick To The Practice And Your Path Becomes Clear

Resistance can show up in many ways, if we resist our healing we stay stuck. Baron Baptiste says"What you resist persist".

We started out our Friday night at the Yoga Journal Conference in New York City with Gabrielle Bernstein.

In what ways are you resisting growth ?Are you paralyzed in old belief patterns, doubt , fear, anger and resentment?  Do they keep you stuck? Are you willing to stop the stories that you tell yourself , the stories that block you from your GREATNESS! Are you willing to say YES to life?Great way to lead us into the weekend.

Saturday morning we started an 8am Practice with Katherine Budig the Title "UnF'withable".

In the urban dictionary it says UnF'withable with is "When you're truly at peace and in touch with yourself.Nothing anyone says or does bothers you and no negativity can touch you."

Her speech was amazing , authentic and truly beautiful. Katherine said “The only person that can take away your power is YOU!”Find your tribe and get your message out their.

Her practice was fun, joyful,vibrant, powerful, playful ,full of laughter and their is no other way to say it she is  adorable. I really enjoyed spending time with her.

We next experienced Seane Corn Energize and Renew. Sean was a strong teacher with a big message. Yoga is a powerful path of personal transformation. At its root, the word means ‘union’ – of mind, body and spirit. Yoga opens our hearts and expands our awareness of self creating space for balance and deep change in our lives. The practice was simple , yet powerful. She spoke about our yoga mat as a  tool which can change your life, and give you access to parts of yourself which you may never have otherwise been aware of.

What you experience and do (or don’t do) on the mat is a direct reflection of how you think about and participate in life.  How you approach your mat, what you explore on it, and how you use what you have learnt there influence the core of who you are.I loved practicing with her.

We next spent the afternoon with Annie Carpenter. I have always been drawn more to the Physical aspects of yoga so I  wanted to explore pranayama more.I loved Annie, she has been around for a long time. I loved that she said "The main reason we do Pranayama is to be comfortable in the present moment.The gift is the time you give yourself to just be, the increasing ability to accept whatever it is that arises in your own mind and the ability to appreciate each moment as it comes and goes". She reminded me  of how powerful pranayama is. I felt great! Relaxed and energized.Calm and Focused.Slept like a baby that night.

We spent Sunday morning with Sadie Nardini. She started out with “ What other people think of you is none of your business”.

Sadie was so out of the box AWESOME! She spoke a lot about our patterns and being aware of our patterns. She said 90% of transformation is awareness.

Sadie also spoke to the importance of always doing the “Inner work” As long as you are alive you have Inquiry work to do. She ended with an awesome quote “ Without action it remains a dream” Do the work!

Her practice was short and very core based. It was wonderful to spend time with her.

Coming back from a weekend with so many wonderful different yoga teachers, I realized that the message was the same. Do your practice! Through our yoga practice we dissolve old patterns that no longer serve us, so we tap into our greatness. Through our practice we  create awareness and we have an opportunity to transform ourselves through that awareness. Through our practice we find our tribe. Through our yoga practice we  learn the gift of stillness . Being comfortable with being in the moment , allowing ourselves to soften into the spaces that we may be holding stress and tension so we are able to heal.

I am so very grateful for so many teachers in my life. I am so GRATEFUL for my yoga practice.

“Do your practice and all is coming.”

― Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

See You On The Mat!