When I think back to the development of my home yoga practice, two pivotal times in my life come to mind. The first was when I am under ten years old. My family and I lived too far in the woods to get anything good on our incredibly old television (manual VHF/UHF dial, anyone?) so I had to get creative. One of my favorite activities was snooping around my parent’s personal belongings, which was how I found my mother’s book, The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, by Swami Vishnudeananda. My yoga practice started on the floor of my parent’s living room, when I would flip through the pages of the book until I came to a picture, and then I would try and mimic it. For years, this was my entire yoga practice. Curiosity may have not worked out so well for the cat, but it introduced me to yoga, and led me onto the path I’m still traveling.
For the other pivotal moment, we need to fast forward
more than a decade. People often ask me how I became a yoga teacher. The
simplified answer is that I had a long, high-stress, serious-commute job that I
hated. Although I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, I would have to fly to
Philadelphia two or three times a month and live in a hotel while I
worked. I would get back to the
hotel room late at night when there was no way I was going out to a yoga class.
I would order room service and while I waited for it to arrive, I would put one
of the hotel towels on the floor in front of the television (which now, lucky
for me, came with a remote control) and do Sun Salutations. I would do as many
Sun Salutations as I could fit in until the porter knocked on my door. When I
realized that the happiest part of my day was the 15-30 minutes of frantic Sun
Salutations before my dinner alone in front of a television, I knew that my
life needed a major shift.
In both of those times, and again and again throughout my
yoga practice, major realizations have come from doing yoga by myself. While
nothing beats the amazing energy and connection that we feel from practicing in
a room filled with other dedicated yogis, often our greatest moments of growth
arrive when we are alone on our mats. You’d be surprised at what you can learn
about yourself, and not just about your yoga asana practice, when you develop
your home yoga practice. While the hardest part can be to start, I promise
you'll be glad that you did!
Check out Emma’s
workshop later this month on developing your own home practice to suit your
life!
Developing a Home
Yoga Practice
w/ Emma Silverman
Saturday, Nov. 16 | 1-3pm
Before 11/8, $25/$23 students
After 11/8, $30/$28 students
