Practice, Yoga

Every time I teach an Intermediate Yoga class, I begin class the same way – with class agreements. After covering any agreements that may be part of studio policy, like those regarding hands-on adjustments, we briefly set agreements around what it means to participate in an intermediate practice. “This is intermediate practice. While we may approach advancing asana and transitions in this class, most importantly, you are the intermediate practitioner. This means that you know yourSelf best – when to modify, use props, or take a particular variation; when to rest; and when to ask questions. Please feel free to ask questions. Does that sound good to everyone?” The expectation of most students when they see the word “intermediate” listed beside a class is that the class will be physically challenging and require inversions, “deep backbends,” and olympic-gymnast-levels of strength and flexibility. This can intimidate people from trying a class that could be appropriate for them. When I lead an intermediate practice, I offer progressions towards advancing asana, but the asana itself isn’t always the focus. The focus always includes self-study and repeatedly asking of yourself, “why?” Why do I want to bind here? At what cost do I progress further in this posture? Am I breathing? Am I content? Am I practicing with purpose?   In a led class, Intermediate Yoga is made intermediate by the practitioner, not by the practice offered. Who, then, is the intermediate practitioner?

• The intermediate practitioner’s practice looks different each time they are on the mat. Just because particular pose, transition, or pranayama exercise has been introduced into the practice, doesn’t mean it needs to be performed each time they are in class. One day they may float gracefully from a handstand into chaturanga through every sun salutation, and the next they may opt-out of chaturanga entirely.
• The intermediate practitioner doesn’t decide what their practice will contain until they arrive. The pace and intensity of the practice isn’t decided upon ahead of time. They decide purposefully how physically or energetically strenuous their practice needs to be once they arrive within it. There is no aim, no attachment to a single peak pose, and no goal other than to experience.
• The intermediate practitioner works to find balance between discipline and honesty. This is perhaps the most challenging element of practice, in my experience. This is the repeated question of “why?” The intermediate practitioner knows their own disposition well enough to know if they tend to go easy on themselves, and require an extra disciplined push, or if they tend to overwork and overstrain, even on a day when rest would be beneficial to them. They then work to find balance between discipline and honesty (not always successfully). Intermediate yoga becomes a practice in holding oneself accountable.
• The intermediate practitioner isn’t afraid to ask for help. If they have chosen to come to a group class, they have the benefit of a teacher witnessing their practice. They ask the teacher questions. They learn to support those practicing around them, and to be supported in return. They reach for a prop when it can serve as a meaningful tool.
• The intermediate practitioner knows that any amount of the pose is still the pose.  Enough said.
• The intermediate practitioner may use the practice as a form of self-expression. Maybe these moments are fleeting, but there are times at which the practice feels as creative as any movement art, and as inspired as any contemplative endeavor.
• The intermediate practitioner, has a knowledge, or at least a sense that the yoga practice goes deeper than asana-based yoga. While it is not necessary to a understanding of the eight limbs of yoga*, it is important that the intermediate practitioner has some idea that the yoga that we most directly perform on the mat (asana, pranayama, and meditation), is part of a larger system of study and practice

*See diagram at the end for an overview

• The intermediate practitioner takes their yoga off of the mat. What carries over from the mat practice differs from one person to the next. Perhaps it is an increased sense of calm, and decreased stress. For some, the mat practice increases mindfulness, morality, or spirituality in everyday life. Often times, consciously or not, the elements that are carried over are in alignment with the eight limb path of yoga*, but no one system of belief is necessary in order to be an intermediate practitioner.

The intermediate practitioner is always discerning for themselves, with mindful consideration, what they need from their yoga practice. How multi-dimensional is that practice to them, both in general, and in discreet moments? Speaking from my own experience, some days I come to a yoga class because I just need to move my body, some days I come to rest my body, some days I come to be disciplined in the physical progression of my practice, and other days I come to class as a form of prayer and conversation with the Divine. I believe an intermediate practice can take place even in a beginners yoga class. In a led class, Intermediate Yoga is made intermediate by the practitioner, not by the practice offered. So, what can you expect from the intermediate class that I teach, then?

• As much as possible, I believe an intermediate yoga class should provide opportunities for practitioners to access all eight limbs of yoga. That space should be created, but without dogma being imposed. You can expect some discussion or mention of yogic philosophy in intermediate class.
• When appropriate, I believe an intermediate yoga class should provide support to those that want to learn to incorporate challenging asana into their practice. If you come to my intermediate class after experiencing some of the gentler classes I teach each week, you may be surprised at the physicality of what is offered, but I can promise that you will not be alienated for opting-out of anything. These challenges will always be offered as progressions, so you can meet yourself where you are.
• Always, I believe an intermediate yoga class should be well-balanced. We will not sweat the entire class. We will not move the entire class. Expect time set aside for yoga nidra, pranayama, and/or meditation in class.
• All seriousness of the yoga practice aside, we will find space for levity during our time together. We will not take ourselves too seriously, and we might even laugh.

Jai Shri Satguru Maharaj Ki! “Asana is related to all the limbs of Yoga, which are intertwined in various ways. Asana is part of the life-style practices of the yamas and niyamas because it is a means of self-study and self-discipline. Asana is a form of pranayama because through right posture we can control our [breath and energy]. Asana is a form of pratyahara because it gives control of both our sesnse and motor organs. Asana is a form of dharana because through it we can concentrate our energies. Lastly, asana is a form of meditation because its proper practice requires that we keep our minds in a clear and reflective state.” – Yoga for Your Type, Frawley & Kozak

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Join me for Intermediate Yoga Wednesdays, 7:30pm at Yoga Home in Conshohocken, PA. (For my full public teaching schedule click here)