Bringing It Home

Encourage your students to develop a home practice-and
stick with it.By Sara Avant Stover
I moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, from New York City when I
was 21. I had been practicing yoga for three years, attending
group classes four times a week. When I moved, though,
things changed. Chiang Mai's yoga scene didn't compare to
the abundant supply of classes I had grown so used to in
New York. If I wanted to keep practicing, I had to do it alone.
Forced by circumstance to foster a home practice, my
relationship with yoga quickly deepened and became more
intimate, more connected. Equipped with a solid foundation
"Often in a class we can get swept away by the group
energy, because it's so powerful," Yee says. "While this is
often fun and exhilarating, it takes us away from our own
true rhythms and needs."
Step by Step
Those students with good body and breath awareness, a
solid understanding of alignment, and a steady attendance in
group classes are ready to start a home practice. But it's
imperative to broach the topic skillfully and with care.
"The relationship with the student is key," says Susanna
Nicholson, a teacher who runs a private studio at Martha
Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"A teacher offers the student compassion and understanding
while holding firm to the importance of daily personal
practice," she says. "For certain students this means telling
success stories, or it may mean simply making the program
very doable and making oneself very accessible for advice
and feedback along the way."
Instead of overwhelming them, ease students into a personal
practice slowly. It should become a pleasure rather than a
chore. Encourage students to practice for short period
insisting that the practice needs to be done regularly and
with dedication," she says. "Often I put the fault on myself to
take away guilt. I say, 'If you're not doing it, I've made it too
long-so call me, and we'll work it out.'"
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