20 Mar What is the right practice for you?

What the right practice is for you, has an everchanging content, with (probably) more or less constant confrontational objects. It depends where you are in your life, and what is needed of you and for you in that period. Check in with other yogis you meet, and people crossing your path practicing meditation and contemplation, and the variations of approaches and practices will appear.  Anything from waking up in the middle of the night and practicing formally hours and hours, till living informal practicing where compassion and service are essential components.

My own practice nowadays is definitely shaped by mommyhood, where formal and informal goes hand in hand. Being a parent is a great practice of mindfulness in its core, though not on the level of f.ex eating mindfully  (not sure I chew bites more than once! as there are hundred things happening around most meals)…;) Every moment of formal practice (i.e. asana, meditation and pranayama) is like drops of honey, and I’m forever grateful. Though I have to say that mommyhood brings the great advantage of needing to plan days more, thus daily formal practice is prioritized space.

Students often question what right practice is. Both on detailed level (alignement and principles in asanas) and broader (“which practices are good for me” etc). The often referred to good-girl-syndrome is indoctrinated in our society and thinking, and we’re often confronted with this in our practice. “Am I meditating correctly?” “How can I do my practice better?” “When am I doing it correctly?” and so forth.

These are resultoriented questions, assuming there is an end-conclusion or goal we need to reach. It reflects a practice origining from the mind or outside, as opposed to the heart or intuition. When the practice is right, is when you’re practicing from within. And when that is, only you know.

Ps. Its always helpful to bear in mind that in a learningprocess, first part entails understanding principles and causalities, facilitating the part of integration. This is a cyclic process, which re-occurs for the various levels of internalization.

What is the right practice for you?

Enjoy!