THERE IS ONLY ONE PATH UP THE MOUNTAIN (so not true)
The first time I trained to teach yoga there was an ongoing “DIFFERENCE OF OPINION” between the two course leaders.
They each followed different philosophies of yoga and insisted on different ways of aligning yoga, which was deeply confusing as a student.
There was a lot of talk of CORRECT ALIGNMENT. But what that actually meant depended on who you talked to…
I called it ALIGNMENT SCHIZOPHRENIA when one yoga teacher would insist I do the opposite of what I’d been told in the previous class.
Eventually, I realised there are many paths up the mountain.
These days I’m less interested in alignment and more interested in co-creating yoga practices that don’t cause short term or long-term injury.
Ultimately: you do the yoga your way, the way that works best for your body.
One of the tools I find massively helpful for getting steady when I’m stressed because of external or internal dissonance is UJJAYI BREATHING.
I use it to help me calm myself and to feel my own centre, where I’m at, even in troubled times.
I’ve been working with this practice for 20 years as a student and 10 years as a teacher. Here’s a tutorial for you.
Tutorial with Claire Mace. Learn Ujjayi breathing.
This is a breath technique used in Forrest Yoga, Astanga Yoga and other styles of yoga to help smooth, lengthen and deepen the breath.
Listen to your body’s needs: do this practice in a way that feels good to you and give yourself permission to modify anything that’s not appropriate for you. Suitable for beginners/improvers/intermediates.
This breathing technique is OK for pregnant people to do.
With thanks to Forrest Yoga and Poppy Perinatal yoga.