Yesterday morning I remembered why I love doing yoga at home! Shortly after I woke up and emerged from my bed I noticed odd sensations in my hips, especially my left hip. It wasn't pain- maybe it was just slight stiffness. Something was off kilter - I had probably slept in an odd position. Who knows? Since it lasted the next hour or so before I did my yoga practice, I figured I would zap the quirky feeling in my hips with yoga.
After a warm shower I rolled out my yoga mat and began my morning practice. However, I changed my routine. I added repetitions of hip-opening poses such as the ankle to forehead stretch, the backward bend, and the knee and thigh stretch (the latter to relax muscles in my thighs leading to my hips). And, I held each of these poses longer than I usually do.
Guess what? Yoga worked! Whatever kinks or stiffness had been in my hips not so mysteriously disappeared and I was back on track. Now, I have participated in only a few yoga classes. But, my experience has been that the yoga instructor develops the routine that everyone follows. There are few or no opportunities to tailor the sequences to your own needs of the day. That's why I believe that home yoga practice has such an advantage over a class session. You can customize it to fit YOU.
Thought for the Day: "Practicing yoga at home allows you to tailor make a regime to fit your personal needs." Laura Venecia Rodriguez