3 Steps to Building Yogic Strength
When I started focussing on building strength my practice exploded! I was able to hold a forearm stand comfortably (whaaat), I was chatting whilst popping up and down through chatarangas, pressing into and out of my headstands and holding longer and stronger Warrior and balancing poses. I found my abs, the practice of Nauli became available to me, my droopy shoulders squared up and these days I felt better than ever!
So when I became a teacher I was so excited to be able to share this training with the world; it’s an opportunity for me to help you get stronger and to feel healthier and more confident in your practice. This is why I created Yoga Strong - a structured online course that takes no planning on your part (so you can just skip step 1 of this process entirely!). You just have to show up, for 30 minutes each day (or every second day - your choice!) and breath your way through it.
So let’s break down these three key steps.
STRATERGIZE
If you want to succeed, in anything, you must have a plan. Figure out when and where and how you can slot this into your day, and put it in the diary! A dream becomes a plan when you write it down. And you don’t need to kill yourself for an hour every day, by the way, 20 - 30 minutes each day will give you what you need if you are working intelligently. Speaking of intelligence, be specific with your training too and know what you need to work on. Eg. Monday - core, Tuesday - legs, Wednesday - back body etc.
SUSTAIN
It’s great to go in strong, to make a big change in a short period of time. I struggle to do things this way but when I do is when they most impactful. It’s hard to begin with, but I stick with, I see the changes and when it’s done there are scatterings of the goodness still there with me. So maybe, after a month or two months of going hard you cut down to 2 or 3 days a week and start to implement some other kind of movement too. I cannot tell you how good it is for your body and mind to try new things and work in different ways.
SYMPATHIZE
This one is SO important. There is this horrible stigma that comes with planned exercise; it’s so often seen as a punishment for all those croissants you ate, or a chore because you feel afraid of gaining weight. Exercise and movement is a blessing. Louder for the people in the back; EXERCISE AND MOVEMENT IS A BLESSING. Use this as an opportunity to enjoy your body; be playful, challenge yourself because it’s fun, hold that Navasana as long as you can and laugh. And for goodness sake, eat the croissants! Live your life as a celebration of your body, and you will learn to love to sweat!