A New Year is also as good a time as any to take a fresh look at your practice. We are told often to maintain “beginner’s mind” but how often do we actually do that? And what does it mean?


 
Never before has there been a time when the exact same conditions have existed as this practice. The chemistry of the food you've eaten, the sleep you had last night, the weather, the global events, the people in the room with you, the people you've spoken to and interacted with and the imprints they've made, how much water you've drunk – all of these influences and more combine to create a completely unique experience – and we should treat our practice as the first one that we have ever experienced under these circumstances, every time, because it is!
 
Do you really listen to your body? Your breath? Your energy? Truly? And respect its boundaries and limits? Or do you let the mind's wants, wishes, ambitions, stories of what you should be doing over-ride the messages your body is trying to give you? If you have sustained injuries, fatigue, getting stuck in practice or even getting stiffer – the answer is yes! Stop – take time to feel, and listen. Go only to your natural limit and breathe there – let the breath take over and do the work.
 
Start with the foundation – how are you connecting to the earth? How do your joints feel? Locked or over-extended joints are rarely happy and can become irritable or unstable – leading to the muscles needing to hold firm around them when they feel unsafe. Can you get access to a full belly/heart breath anytime? If you can't – you may be too far in the pose. It is rare to be in a pose when you can't access full breath (some very advanced postures might limit the breath).
 
Occasionally we intentionally limit the breath in one area to move it into a tighter area (e.g. when we fold onto our thighs in a forward bend to move the breath into the tight back muscles). Is our spine aligned – with length and space between the discs? Is our neck part of that alignment? Are our shoulders away from our neck, and shoulder blades hugging into our back ribs close to the spine?

These are all alignment cues that show you when you are within your body's natural range. If any of them are compromised – they can lead to tension, injury, lethargy, over or under-active mind, breath restriction or speed and more – maybe not obviously at first, but over time the imbalance builds until we wonder why we have pain/feel stuck/feel depressed or frustrated in our practice/seem to have gone backwards... Practice on the edge – still within the limit, then let the breath and bandha action move you forward.


 
Advanced yoga is not just accessing advanced poses – but skilful discernment of the use of Abhyasa and Vairagya to determine when to hold firm/action and when to pull back or surrender.
 
It can be tricky – as sometimes when we pull back from physical sensation, it can feel a little less exciting than when we push forward. This is the time to use the breath – consciously, with intent – full inhales that take in all the millions of bits of micro data from your body and senses, and exhales that move that intelligence through the pose to bring it alive. Speak to your teacher about feeling this more if you can't get it yourself.
 
Enjoy experimenting with these suggestions – and you may discover a whole new layer to your practice over this next year. Good luck – and always ask for guidance if you can't quite feel what you are looking for, or feel any pain or discomfort!

Namaste <3

Love and blessings <3 <3 Suzanne