8 ways to develop your yoga & teaching practice

1. Ask Ask ask. Always ask questions. Ask your body, ask your mind, ask your teacher, ask your students! Never be afraid to ask questions. You may infer why someone is doing a posture one way or why a teacher adjusted a certain way but until you ask you will never have the clarity that will enhance your own learning and practice. It is a good habit to get into if you Ask me! :)

2. Listen. Once you have asked be prepared to listen. Meditation helps silence the mind so you can listen more intensely and not miss the real insight you may have just heard. Take a moment to stop and truly listen.

3. Be open. Open your body with your yoga practice and your mind will follow. Open yourself up to all the wonderful gifts your yoga teaching and practice has to offer.

4. Read. Study the yoga scriptures, history, new magazines. Read new insights into yoga. Immerse yourself in all things yoga. This knowledge will deepen your practice and continually give you new awareness on why you are doing a pose or breathing technique for example and how it can better benefit you and your students.

5. Play! Have fun, fun, fun! The best and quickest way to develop and be good at anything is to enjoy it. Find a sense of playfulness in your practice. Find new fun ways to do poses, meditate and even practice the yamas and niyamas. This will keep it interesting and your new ideas will inspire others.

6. Get healthy in all other areas of your life. Look into eating healthier, becoming more aware of the foods and different ways to eat in different seasons will give you more energy and vitality for your yoga practice.

7. Take a break! Find balance in your practice and teaching. Yeah sometimes taking a rest from it all can be the best thing to do to enhance your practice. As Leonardo Di Vinci put it 'every now and then go away, go sum distance away, take rest, for when you return to your work/practice your vision will be clearer and a new sense of perspective and balance will be more easily seen.'

8. Share share share. Share all of the above with others. Share your experiences, share your knowledge. Even sharing your mistakes will make yours and your students practice evolve.

Pablo Picasso - "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."

Enjoy your practice and developing it.

Affirm: "I allow the love from my own heart to wash through me, cleansing and healing every part of my body. I know I am worth healing."

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. - John Steinbeck

Namaste

Keep :) Keep Loving Keep Creating Keep teaching Keep learning Keep sharing Keep practicing Keep :)

Om mani Padme hum

Wherever you walk may it be beautiful

Rogieyogibear