There are many reasons why one may want to deepen their yoga practice. Perhaps you’ve been practicing yoga for a while and you’re getting curious about the origins and philosophies of yoga. Or, perhaps you have a certain goal in mind like becoming more spiritual, diving deep into alignment, building strength and flexibility, or learning more advanced poses.
Whatever the reason may be, wanting to go deeper into your practice shows that you’re serious and committed about yoga and that you’re ready to expand your learning in a more meaningful and mindful way.
There are many ways to go about deepening your practice and it all depends on your specific goals. Although there are definitely more, below are my recommendations on ways to deepen your practice based on your specific need.
1. Yoga Teacher Training
I always get questions from students wanting to know how to tell if they’re ready for yoga teacher training. The answer is different for everyone. The most important question you want to ask here is “WHY,” why do you want to attend yoga teacher training? Do you want to dive deep into alignment and philosophy? Do you want to teach yoga full time or part time? Do you want to build a home practice? Ask yourself why and if the answer is sincere and it comes from a place of self-love rather than fear, then I’d say you’re just about ready.
Having said that, I do not recommend joining a yoga teacher training without having practicing yoga first. Let me repeat that, I do not recommend joining a yoga teacher training without having practicing yoga first. That would be as if I woke up tomorrow and suddenly decided to attend a belly dancing teacher training program. It just wouldn’t make sense. Yes, this may be a stupid thing to even mention, but I’ve heard stories about people wanting to join teacher trainings as a way to start and learn yoga.
I recommend at least one year of consistent practice before even considering yoga teacher programs.
So yes, yoga teacher training is a great way to deepen your practice, but you need to be clear on your intentions and be sure to pick the right program (this is a topic for another post).
2. Yoga Retreats
Yoga retreats are great for immersing yourself in yoga, not to mention the added perk of going to a beautiful place, meeting new people, and exploring different areas around the world. Most yoga retreats offer two classes per day and in certain cases, special workshops about different topics. Also, there are usually two or more teachers available so you’ll certainly get lots of individual attention on yoga retreats.
The classes are also longer than usual so there is time for workshopping certain poses, corrections, and yummy adjustments. I always spend extra time with students after classes on my yoga retreats. I love the idea of connecting with my students in a more individual way.
When you’re looking to sign-up for a yoga retreat as a way to deepen your practice, make sure that there will be enough teachers to attend to the whole group, and that special workshops are being offered.
3. Yoga Immersions & Workshops
Immersions and workshops are helpful if you’re looking to deepen your practice around a particular subject. There are immersions covering backbending, inversions, arm balancing, meditation, etc. Another great thing about them is that the teachers are almost always subject matter experts about the particular subject being taught. Look around in your local studios or your favorite teachers to see when special workshops and immersions will be offered.
4. Yoga Challenges
When I say yoga challenges, I don’t just mean on Instagram, although those could be great too. The key is to pick the right challenge that will teach you one specific thing without forcing yourself and possibly risk injury. You definitely don’t want to be trying poses your body isn’t necessarily ready for yet. I have seen Instagram challenges where participants have to try nearly-impossible poses day after day. Avoid if you can.
However, there are great challenges out there offering one specific end-goal (beginner’s challenge, flexibility or strengthening challenges, or one leading towards one specific pose). I recommend email challenges where the host sends you a tutorial right in your email. This is a bit more organized and you have actual instructions to keep it safe and fun. Be sure that the host is a qualified teacher, and not just someone off of Instagram with tons of followers and pretty pictures. Let’s keep it safe.
5. A Home Practice
And last, but definitely not least, one of my favorite ways to deepening my knowledge about yoga is a consistent at-home yoga practice. Sure, going to the studio is great too since you have a teacher in person to hopefully correct your poses (not always guaranteed in big group classes).
A home practice allows you to slow down and really explore the ins and outs of the practice. It’s like having your own space where you can move freely in an expressive and creative kind of way. One of the cons of practicing at home though, is that it’s more difficult to make the commitment. You definitely have a lot more distractions at home (to some degree, depending on who you are), so it may be challenging to keep it consistent. But, you can do it! I’m sure.
There are great YouTube channels out there, plus monthly subscription sites where you can get all kinds of unlimited yoga classes. I’m just starting out with my Youtube channel but you can check out some of my classes there.
