Yoga as a resource for the life you live
By Alan Franzi, MS, C-IAYT
“What is the best yoga practice I can do for myself?” Students have asked me this question many times over the years. My answer is still: “The one that you will do.”
That answer has a practical side. When life already feels overwhelming, self-care should not become one more commitment we cannot meet. But it also leaves room for something less predictable: a simple practice, given time, can open a window into possibilities we did not have in mind when we began.
In my years of teaching, students have described discovering a breathing or meditation practice they can turn to during difficult moments. Others have found that coming to class offers a sense of community and support alongside the physical work. The practice takes on meaning through what becomes useful in their own lives.
A practice that can change with you
There are many practices within yoga and meditation, and our reasons for turning to them change. Working with a restricted movement may be the immediate concern. During a difficult period, having a familiar way to settle can matter more. Even within an ordinary yoga posture, the emphasis can shift from getting into the shape to feeling how much effort we bring to it.
I have sometimes described yoga as a “one stop shop,” because its different practices can be adapted to the concerns we bring. There is breadth within the practice. We can draw on different aspects of it without expecting any one technique to meet every need.
As life changes, the practice deserves to change with it.
Relief in the moment, improvement over time
Research supports yoga as an approach that can help reduce experienced stress. What that means in daily life can be quite ordinary and still significant.
Consider the effort that gathers in your shoulders during a demanding afternoon. Take a moment to feel it. Is your breath moving freely? A familiar movement or breathing practice gives you something to work with, right there in the midst of your day. This is part of what I mean by having a “go to” practice.
Over time, the value can extend beyond getting through a rough spot. Students have described a growing sense of confidence in having ways to meet the challenges in their lives. Becoming familiar with what helps you settle, and recognizing strain sooner, can give you more choice in how you respond. Those changes are less dramatic than an immediate sense of relief, but they can matter just as much.
Making room for equanimity
Equanimity can sound remote from the concerns that bring us to yoga. But its value is practical: finding some steadiness while life continues to change.
In my earlier writing, I returned often to the distinction between responding and reacting. Awareness begins with allowing ourselves to feel what is happening, without immediately judging it or struggling to make it different. An uncomfortable experience does not have to be resolved all at once.
Nor is equanimity a requirement to remain calm. There will be days when settling is difficult. That, too, belongs in the practice.
Enjoyment belongs in the practice
I once wrote about self-care as a “healthful indulgence.” Many of us readily make time for the people who depend on us, yet hesitate to give ourselves the same attention. Even a modest practice can be a welcome part of the week rather than another obligation.
There can be pleasure in an easier movement, or in giving yourself time to be still without having to accomplish anything.
Enjoyment has value of its own.
It also gives us a reason to return. A practice that fits your life has a better chance of becoming part of it.
Returning to your life
In that same earlier article, I described self-care as a way to “serve the self that serves.” Time spent attending to our own needs has a place within a life of commitments to others. Its value includes what we bring back to those relationships.
We may begin by wanting less pain or greater flexibility. Along the way, we may discover more confidence in responding to our needs, or renewed enjoyment in something we thought we were losing.
For you, of course, the journey is yours to enjoy as it evolves.
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Related reading: A Deeper Resilience
Research and further reading
Szaszkó and colleagues’ randomized study of 98 participants found reduced momentary stress after an eight-week Hatha yoga program compared with a waitlist, but no change in the measured salivary stress markers. The study supports stress-related benefits without establishing that this particular teaching approach changes those biological measures. Read the study.
This article draws on my earlier writings about yoga as a “one stop shop” and making practice a sustainable part of everyday life.
Classes provide movement education and support for well-being, not medical or mental health diagnosis or treatment. Individual experiences vary. Read the full disclaimer.