If you like the idea of giving yourself a gift for Valentine’s Day, I suggest you negotiate an hour or so of alone time. Turn off your phone and computer, find your yoga mat, roll it out, lie down and make up own personal yoga practice!

We have had many students tell us that they never considered a personal yoga practice. They felt that they didn’t know enough about yoga or that they were afraid they would do something wrong. I have to say, I felt that way myself. But one day when I was all alone, I decided to lay out my mat in the living room with the intention of doing yoga all by myself.  After a few hours of procrastination, I was getting tired of walking across the mat and not getting started, so I decided to start in my favorite pose. The one that I did best, lying in Savasana! Although I had gone to many classes, that simple pose was the beginning of my personal journey into yoga.

If you are not sure where to begin, try starting in Savasana. Set up your mat, have a yoga blanket or two handy and just lie down and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes and begin your deep diaphragmatic breathing. Give yourself some time to calm your nerves and quiet your mind… See where your body wants to go from there. Just begin, with no judgments or agenda. Maybe you will have a very relaxing practice and stay in Savasana for 15 or 20 minutes. Or maybe you will want to move into additional poses. I bet you know more about the yoga poses than you think you do (and better yet, don’t think about it!) If you have practiced yoga in classes or online, you have some basis to start. Do the poses that come to mind. They don’t have to be done perfectly. Practice the poses that you like the best, or practice the ones that you love to hate! Trust your instincts to find the perfect practice for your body.

You can really get to know yourself as you will not be comparing yourself to others. You can relax and open up to your own inner guidance. You will give yourself the gift of self awareness and learn to work with any limitations or unique abilities that you may have. Mostly, you will give yourself an opportunity to love and honor your body.

At the end of every class, my first yoga teacher announced to the group in a big booming voice, “The true gains of yoga are found in a personal practice.” It took me along time to trust myself enough to put out my mat and give it a try. I know now that a personal practice is the best way to truly make yoga a part of your life. You become your own teacher. You learn to trust yourself to find out what works best for you.

Go inside and listen, there’s an inner teacher waiting to be discovered! What a wonderful Valentine to give yourself.

Sue Anne Parsons 500 EYT, CYT – owner of Let It Go Yoga since 1986

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