YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • Partner With Us
  • Subscribe
  • Education, Trainings + Retreats
  • Events
  • “The Practice”
  • HOME
  • FEATURED
    • Community + Culture
    • Wellness + Nutrition
    • Products
    • Profiles
    • Yoga + Fitness
    • Events
  • ALL CONTENT
    • Community + Culture
      • Art
      • Books
      • Community
      • Culture
      • Family
      • Fashion
      • Food + Drink
      • Nourish Me
      • Motivation
      • Music
      • Outdoors
      • Travel
    • Wellness + Nutrition
      • Self-Care
      • Nutrition
      • Psychology
      • Recipes
      • Therapy
      • Weight Loss
    • Products
      • Product Spotlights
      • Roundups
      • Try It On – Reviews
      • Try It Out – Reviews
    • Profiles
      • Business
      • Partner Profiles
      • People
      • Spotlight Cities
      • Students
      • Studios
      • Teachers
      • Seva Story
      • Sustainability Story
      • Storytelling
    • Yoga + Fitness
      • Asana
      • In the Practice
      • Meditation
      • Philosophy
      • Physiology
      • Sports
      • Workouts
    • Events
      • Festivals
      • Retreats
      • Training Spotlights
    • Inspiration From Y+L Partners
  • Y + L COMMUNITIES
    • COLORADO
    • MINNESOTA
    • NEW YORK
  • CONNECT
    • Order A Magazine
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contribute
    • Contact Us
  • LIVE CLASSES
Featured Posts
  • What We Love : Summer + Fall 2022
    • 20 views
  • photo of leaves
    Celebrating the Seasons with Ayurveda | By Marissa Angeletti
    • 44 views
  • Introducing Lightworker UV : Fitness & Yoga Mat Sanitizer
    • 64 views
  • Partner With Us
  • Subscribe
  • Education, Trainings + Retreats
  • Events
  • “The Practice”
0 Followers
0 Likes
Partners
YOGA + Life® Magazines
Subscribe
  • HOME
  • FEATURED
    • Community + Culture
    • Wellness + Nutrition
    • Products
    • Profiles
    • Yoga + Fitness
    • Events
  • ALL CONTENT
    • Community + Culture
      • Art
      • Books
      • Community
      • Culture
      • Family
      • Fashion
      • Food + Drink
      • Nourish Me
      • Motivation
      • Music
      • Outdoors
      • Travel
    • Wellness + Nutrition
      • Self-Care
      • Nutrition
      • Psychology
      • Recipes
      • Therapy
      • Weight Loss
    • Products
      • Product Spotlights
      • Roundups
      • Try It On – Reviews
      • Try It Out – Reviews
    • Profiles
      • Business
      • Partner Profiles
      • People
      • Spotlight Cities
      • Students
      • Studios
      • Teachers
      • Seva Story
      • Sustainability Story
      • Storytelling
    • Yoga + Fitness
      • Asana
      • In the Practice
      • Meditation
      • Philosophy
      • Physiology
      • Sports
      • Workouts
    • Events
      • Festivals
      • Retreats
      • Training Spotlights
    • Inspiration From Y+L Partners
  • Y + L COMMUNITIES
    • COLORADO
    • MINNESOTA
    • NEW YORK
  • CONNECT
    • Order A Magazine
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contribute
    • Contact Us
  • LIVE CLASSES
  • In the Practice
  • Yoga + Fitness

A Reflection on Daily Practice : Yoga Every Day Does Not Have to Look the Same Way | By Wren Schuyler

  • YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • 272 views
  • 3 minute read
Total
36
Shares
35
0
1

There is more than one way to practice yoga. I try to look beyond the physical poses and recognize that a daily practice doesn’t have to meet any kind of time, style or even place requirement. Especially now that I’m practicing from home, my daily yoga practice rarely looks the same way each day. Every body, every mind and every day requires something a little different to find presence and ease. Luckily, the teachings of yoga are broad and fluid in the ways that students may explore different approaches to their practice! I hope to highlight my favorites and inspire you to develop your own unique practice.

To give you an idea: today I came to my mat and did a bit of journaling. Then, while listening to some calming mantras, I stretched and did some breathing. I finished my practice with a few oms and felt ready for the day. Yesterday, for a comparison, I simply took a few restorative yoga shapes and listened to a short guided meditation. Tomorrow, perhaps I’ll chant a bit before doing a yoga nidra session. And, once a week, I try to gift myself a nice long virtual class.

What I find most wonderful about practicing in this more open way is that I have to listen. I have to tune into my body and mind to find what would be nourishing for that day. I relish the freedom to create unique combinations of my favorite practices for balance and awakening. I move and breathe, I journal and read, and most days I chant and meditate. This is all yoga! As long as the practice brings a sense of presence and ease into your day, do it your way. Remember that there are several branches or approaches to yoga that students may explore for inspiration.

 

I have to listen. I have to tune into my body and mind to find what would be nourishing for that day.

One of my favorite ways to begin the day is inspired by bhakti (devotional) yoga. I chant a few oms, sing a mantra or just take some big sighs. It feels so good to get some vibrations moving through me. It breaks up the tension in the body and warms up the vocal cords. I think of it as a way to express myself freely, subtly connect to the world around me, and surrender to the flow, force or greater power.

Hatha yoga is the most well-known and widely practiced branch of yoga. Involving the physical practice of poses and breathing techniques, hatha aims to balance, strengthen and revitalize the body and mind. There are many styles of movement, though. I often begin my mornings with restorative yoga to ease myself into the day since I don’t always feel supported by a full vinyasa flow sequence.

My focus on meditation is inspired by raja (royal) yoga and the eight limb path. Plus, jnana (knowledge) yoga influences my drive to study, to reflect and contemplate more deeply. Yoga doesn’t have to stay on your mat though. Karma, the yoga of action and service, encourages me to do my practice through acts of kindness — like baking a few extra loaves of bread for my neighbors. And tantra is more than just connecting more intimately with myself and my partner; this yoga lets me practice through life itself. I experience the smell, the feel and the taste of my morning cup of tea. I see the light and beauty on my walks around the block.

Yoga, this practice of uniting with the moment and being content, can be approached in many different ways.

You can begin by releasing your expectations of what your daily yoga practice should look, sound or feel like. Ask yourself, “What truly feels nourishing and supportive to me?” Then, show up for yourself and continue to ask, “What do I need today?”

Forcing ourselves to do the same thing every day is unsustainable. Diversifying the support we offer ourselves is not only fun, but it is also deeply healing and inspiring. The different approaches to yoga emphasize specific elements of yoga, but the branches are all part of the same tree. When integrating different approaches, one’s daily yoga practice becomes a unique and creative process of self-discovery.

Photo by Wren Schuyler.

WrenWren Schuyler is a mindful creative: restorative yoga and meditation guide (CYT 500), freelance writer and artist. She inspires and leads by example. Passionate about mental clarity, physical wellness, slow & green living, and authentic self-expression, Wren creates to bring joy into this world. You can join her for restorative yoga practices on youtube — wren’s mindfulnest. Wren loves tea and podcasts. She is sure to be cozy at home in Colorado.

Total
36
Shares
Share 35
Tweet 0
Pin it 1
YOGA + Life® Magazines
YOGA + Life® Magazines

Previous Article
  • In the Practice

Changing the Yoga Industry From the Inside | By Allison Rissel

  • YOGA + Life® Magazines
View Post
Next Article
embracing lila
  • In the Practice

Embracing Lila to Fight Pandemic Fatigue | By Teresa Mason

  • YOGA + Life® Magazines
View Post
More from Y+L
  • The Vail Wine Classic Returns This August

    • Lexi Reich | Managing Editor
    View Post
  • An Evening with Elizabeth Gilbert : A Revolutionary Woman Is A Relaxed Woman | By Rachel Glowacki

    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
    View Post
  • Telluride Yoga Festival

    Telluride Yoga Festival Makes A Move To Mountain Village | By Kristen Grace

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Elizabeth Gilbert is Coming to Denver on May 4 | By Kim Fuller

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Oars

    On The River + In The Flow : Balancing Yoga, Meditation and a Thirst for Whitewater at a Women’s Wellbeing Retreat | By Lisa Blake

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Break Free Fitness Festival : Colorado’s Largest Fitness Festival With A PARTY Twist

    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
    View Post
  • Vail Symposium Celebrates 50 Years in the Vail Valley | By Katie Coakley

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Shakti Flow in Mexico : “With Nature, Yoga and Inquiry, We Transformed” | By Peggy Markel

    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
    View Post
  • Tips on Success : Falling Upwards with Nina Williams | By Olivia Lyda

    • CO YOGA + Life®
    View Post
  • Play + Connect at Everland : Sedalia, Colorado | By Lexi Reich

    • Lexi Reich | Managing Editor
    View Post
Archived Posts!
  • Book Review : “The Mess That We Made” | By Sandy Ferguson Fuller
    • 384
  • meditation
    Growing Grey Matter Grows Humanity : How Meditation Physically, Positively Alters The Brain | By Emma Murray
    • 226
  • Mental Health Tips for Cabin Fever II | By Kay Hutchison 
    • 174
  • How I Let Go of Shame Around Starting Over | By Bailey Smith
    • 328
  • Partner Profile : MoonLIT
    • 152
Instagram
Join us here on Wednesday, June 22 at 12:15 pm MST for an Instagram LIVE with our Crown Partner @allisonrissel of @yogateacherconf 🧘‍♀️
As yogis, our work starts with spreading our internal light out into the world. LightWorker UV (@lightworkeruv) — the creators behind the industry’s first UV-C mat sanitizing machine — understands this best. As a brand rooted in bringing safety, peace of mind and light back into the yoga and fitness community, its company mantra “We Spread Light” has never been truer.
@maineyogafest ✨CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT✨
Tabay Atkins became one of America’s youngest certified yoga teachers at the age of 10 and has been discovering and sharing tools for wellness since.
Many CBD companies out there make full-spectrum products, but @miraflora.co, a CBD company based in Boulder, CO, takes it to a whole new level, starting with the way they grow the hemp itself. Call it full-spectrum farming, if you will.
RENEWAL 🌱
Can you create a to-do list prioritizing tasks where contentment and meaning mesh together?
@holisticyogaschoolcolorado was born over a decade ago with the intention to create a Yoga Shala, a community place for learning and growth. Krista Davis founded the school, drawing inspiration from many years of traveling, living and teaching in conscious communities and yoga centers around the world. To this day, the school continues to thrive as a family-owned and operated small business.
Facebook
Facebook
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Join us here on Wednesday, June 22 at 12:15 pm MST for an Instagram LIVE with our Crown Partner @allisonrissel of @yogateacherconf 🧘‍♀️
As yogis, our work starts with spreading our internal light out into the world. LightWorker UV (@lightworkeruv) — the creators behind the industry’s first UV-C mat sanitizing machine — understands this best. As a brand rooted in bringing safety, peace of mind and light back into the yoga and fitness community, its company mantra “We Spread Light” has never been truer.
@maineyogafest ✨CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT✨
Tabay Atkins became one of America’s youngest certified yoga teachers at the age of 10 and has been discovering and sharing tools for wellness since.
Many CBD companies out there make full-spectrum products, but @miraflora.co, a CBD company based in Boulder, CO, takes it to a whole new level, starting with the way they grow the hemp itself. Call it full-spectrum farming, if you will.
RENEWAL 🌱

Join the YOGA + Life® Newsletter!

Events, Product Reviews, Promotions and More!

about
YOGA + Life® - an online community and magazine.
Recent Articles
  • What We Love : Summer + Fall 2022
    • CO YOGA + Life®
  • photo of leaves
    Celebrating the Seasons with Ayurveda | By Marissa Angeletti
    • CO YOGA + Life®
  • Introducing Lightworker UV : Fitness & Yoga Mat Sanitizer
    • YOGA + Life® Magazines
  • Is It Time To Illuminate What Is Possible For You? Meet Dana Knerl, Holistic Healing Guide
    • CO YOGA + Life®
  • About Us + Policies, Terms
  • Online Columnists
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
YOGA + Life® - All Rights Reserved

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

 

Loading Comments...