To Your Health
August 2007

Along the Mountain Path
by Sarah Kilpatrick, E.R.Y.T.

When God made time, he made enough. --Anonymous Time is very democratic. Everyone on earth has exactly 24 hours a day. --Judith Lasiter

If you've attended a few classes, or bought a practice tape, and your intention is to start a home practice, you may be unclear about how to fit a practice into your daily routine. Most of us feel that there's already too much scheduled into our lives, and "not enough time!"

There are some practical guidelines for practice that, when taken into consideration, can help us to choose our practice time. Please notice that I said "choose." You will not "find" any more time, as you have that definite 24-hour limit. The question is, what do you choose to do, and when.

It is important to practice on an empty stomach. For this reason, many people practice first thing in the morning. If you practice later in the day, you will need to pay attention to what you eat and when (not a bad thing!) so that you don't feel full or heavy when you come to the mat. Usually, allow 2 hours after a small meal, or 4 after a heavier one. Your own digestive time will influence this.

Practicing early in the morning also assures that you do practice, before the events of the day distract you.

Pranayama is best done early in the morning, and I find that meditation is best for me at this time, after my breathing exercises. I prefer to do my asana practice later in the day. If you combine the two, do asanas first, then pranayama, and finally your meditation. Savasana, corpse pose, is beginning meditation and should be done last. Some people meditate in the evening, before bed.

The amount of time that you feel you can allow for practice will influence it's structure. For example, I take about 40 minutes in the morning for pranayama and meditation. Then, in the afternoon I spend about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the day, on asana. In the winter, I like to spend some time at the end of the evening in seated forward bends and twists. On the weekend, I may have a longer session. Many people find that doing a few poses first thing, followed by Savasana, is a good start to the day. Some may practice active poses in the morning, and seated and recuperative poses in the evenings. You will want to match your practice to your activities. If you do a lot of backbends in the evening, you may be too energized to sleep!

Basically, you can experiment to find out where in your day the practice supports you. The important thing is to practice, and this is supported by finding some consistent time to devote to yoga.

Finally, there is what some of us call "Kitchen Yoga," just doing a few poses here and there during your daily activities. While this is not a substitute for actual, regular practice time, it's a wonderful addition and can fill in the gaps when you simply don't keep that date with your mat!

As with any effort, the more you put into your yoga practice, the more you will derive from it. But, please do not judge or beat yourself up when you miss practice. Simply observe your resistance, and get back to the practice the next day.

The Mountain Path is climbed step by joyful step!

Namaste'.

Sarah Kilpatrick, E. R.Y.T., practices (and teaches) yoga at Mountain Path Yoga Studio on the third floor of Barman's Country Store in downtown Colville. For information about classes, call (509) 684-0965.

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