Image courtesy of Unsplash
Blog post by Gabriel Patel of HealthWise.com
At first glance, modern advancements and yoga seem to be at odds. Can we really achieve internal peace alongside the chaos of today’s world? The answer is yes—if you know what tools, technology, and methods to apply. Read on for some ideas for taking advantage of what’s available so you can take your yoga practice up a notch.
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Use Yoga and Meditation Apps
There are a great many apps that will help you stay on track with your practice. For instance, Down Dog builds customized practices for you according to how much time you have and what you’d like to work on. Asana Rebel offers yoga practices, meditations, high-intensity workouts, and even quizzes to test your knowledge on health and wellness. If you’re new to yoga, Daily Yoga features a two-week series of tutorials for beginners along with more than 100 yoga and meditation classes.
Take a Video of Your Practice
Videos are not just for pros! Taking a video of yourself gives you feedback about how your poses look. Even if you practice at a mirror-walled studio, it’s not always possible or even safe to turn your head to be able to see yourself completely. That’s where video comes in. Yoga Alliance points out you should have ample natural lighting and sound buffering for best results, and above all, be true to yourself so you can advance.
There are a few tricks involved with creating a quality video. If you’re wanting top-quality video, either for yourself or to share, a camcorder is generally a best choice. While your phone is a convenient option, it’ll take a tripod or pile of supportive books to achieve worthwhile results. You may or may not care about audio quality, which might be subpar using a phone, and keep in mind that videos tend to be large files, so they can eat up your file storage.
Build a Community
Your smartphone can come in handy in another way as well. Use it to find local classes so you can meet qualified and experienced teachers—along with new yoga friends. Join yoga-focused groups on social media as well as sites like Meetup, which will help you take your interest offline and into the real world.
Superprof suggests following yoga enthusiasts on social media as well. Some are big influencers who may or may not know that much about yoga; others are teachers with smaller followings who offer regular tips on particular poses and the yoga lifestyle. Connect with these like-minded people, share stories, and be inspired.
When building your own yoga community, it’s important to remember not to compare yourself to anyone else. Yoga is not a competitive sport. It’s a personal journey, and everyone is on their own path at different mile markers. Let them inspire you without influencing negative self-talk.
Smash Your Goals
We don’t necessarily think about setting yoga goals the way we set other life goals, since yoga isn’t all about achievement. Yoga Journal explains it’s important to embrace some intentions and goals as part of your journey. You’ll have things to work toward and feel accomplished about, boosting your enthusiasm for the practice.
Your goals could be about practicing a certain number of times per week, meditating for a certain length of time, or going to a certain number of new classes with new teachers. Employ a well-chosen goal such as those mentioned above or an app specific to goal-setting. You can track your class schedule, the number of minutes you’ve practiced, and much more. A yoga app can tell you exactly how far you’ve come and how far you need to go to achieve your desired results. To run apps effectively, you’ll need a well-functioning smartphone. If your current model is outdated, you may be able to save if your provider offers money back on new devices when you trade in your old smartphone.
You don’t have to feel torn between yoga and today’s world. Instead, use what’s available to your advantage and improve your yoga practice. From phones to apps and teachers and friends, you can do it!