Why do we practice poses in the first place?
Most of us are familiar with the physical side of yoga: the stretching, strengthening, balancing and moving. Traditionally though, yoga teaches that asana changes our relationship with the past.
Think about it: your body carries the residue of your experiences. A poor night's sleep. Stress from work. Old injuries. Emotions you haven't fully processed. Hours spent sitting at a desk. Tension from rushing through the day. This is part of why your body feels different from one day to the next. Some days you feel open and energised. Other days, stiff, tired or distracted.
When we practise yoga with awareness, we begin to notice what we're carrying, physically, mentally and emotionally, and gently work with it. Little by little, movement helps us unwind what has accumulated.
What does breathwork do?
Yoga says that breath changes our relationship with the present moment. The way we breathe influences the way we feel. When we're stressed, the breath changes. When we're calm, the breath changes. And interestingly, it works both ways: change the breath and you can often influence how you feel.
Feeling stressed and needing to settle? There are breathing practices for that. Foggy and needing clarity? There are breath techniques that can help with that too. We've written more about this in how breathing changes how you feel.
And meditation?
Yoga says meditation changes our relationship with the future. When we sit quietly, we start to notice how the mind moves. We notice what we cling to. What we resist. What stories we repeat. What worries we rehearse.
Meditation gives us the chance to see these patterns more clearly. And in seeing them, something important becomes possible: choice. Instead of automatically reacting, we begin to respond more consciously. Over time, those different choices shape a different future, hopefully one that feels a little more aware, a little more compassionate, a little more steady and centred.
What should I take from this?
A well-rounded practice recognises that different techniques support different parts of us. Movement helps us process what we're carrying. Breath helps us regulate what we're experiencing right now. Meditation helps us become more conscious of where we're heading.
So this week, rather than just asking "what class do I feel like?", you might also ask "what do I need?" A sweaty movement class? A slower stretch? A moment to breathe? A chance to be still?
We've got space for all of it: Dynamic Yoga when you need to move, Stretch and Yin when you need to slow down and a weekly Meditation class when you need to be still.