How to Create Your Own Yoga Program
The "classic formula" for yoga includes attunement, preparation or warm up, standing, balance, abdominals, inversion, back bending, forward bending, twisting and final relaxation exercises, in that order. Some routines have additional rest and compensation exercises after the main exercise and before final relaxation postures.
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Instructions
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Planning and Preparation
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Meet with your doctor and discuss your plans for a routine. Review any areas of concern you may have and any underlying health conditions.
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Determine the type of yoga you would like practice. There are eight major styles of yoga: Bhakti, which focuses on the concept of higher beings; Guru, which focuses on the importance of the teacher; Hatha, which seeks to reach enlightenment through the body; Jnana, an existential form of yoga; Karma, which seeks to positively influence destiny; Mantra, which uses the sound of mantras to harmonize the body; Raja, classical yoga employing the popular eight-fold path of yoga and Tantra, the most complex and misunderstood form of yoga that focuses on the visualization of dieties.
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Determine how much time you can commit to your routine. Generally, programs range from 15 to 60 minutes. Choose an amount of time that will easily fit into your daily routine already.
Selecting Exercises
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Select attunement exercises and postures for the beginning of your program. The purpose of attunement is to select and regulate the type of breathing you will use for the rest of your program. Belly breathing and the corpse posture are both good exercises to begin with.
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Choose one or two warm-up exercises. These exercises are usually folding or opening motions. A simple forward-bend should suffice. Make sure your warm-up exercises are similar to the attunement exercises to keep with the flow of the routine.
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Pick three to seven standing positions based on the desired length of the program. The sun salutation and the sun rejuvenation sequences are both popular choices for standing positions. Remember, all forward-bending exercises should come at the end of a sequence, no matter what exercise you choose.
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Decide on one balancing posture to focus on for the routine, like the balancing cat, the tree or the scorpion. This is the most strenuous part of the routine, so choose stances your body can easily handle. Follow up by resting either in a lying, kneeling or sitting position.
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Select one or two abdominal exercises, such as yogi sit-ups or sit-backs. Compensate the abdominals and prepare for inverted postures by choosing a posture such as the dynamic bridge.
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Opt for one inverted posture, such as the dying bug. Only include this part of the routine when you are ready. It is not recommended for early beginners. Transition from the inverted pose to back-bends using the corpse and/or the cobra poses.
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Choose one back-bending exercise, such as the locust. Select a neutralizing pose such as the child's posture or a short rest to defuse the back and neck.
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Stretch the hamstrings and hips. Do this in preparation for forward-bends, by lying on your back with one knee bent. Gently raise and lower the straight leg as you inhale and exhale. Switch legs. Pick one or two forward-bending exercises. If you are having trouble with the posture, bend your knees slightly.
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Choose one or two twisting exercises, which are generally held as the most relaxing exercises in yoga. The sage twist and the Swiss Army knife are comprehensive and relaxing twisting positions.
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Include a final relaxation posture at the end of your routine. Like with attunement, you must choose a resting position, such as the knees-to-chest posture, and focus on the type of breathing you chose for your routine.
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Do a test run of your routine and decide if it is the appropriate length and intensity. Add more repetitions of exercises you enjoy or more challenging exercises to flesh-out the program. If an exercise is uncomfortable, replace it with a different, yet similar, posture.
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Tips & Warnings
Soft background music can help to create the ambiance needed for the most successful yoga routine.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1121/526324695_9ca8deb74b_o.jpg, kimberely vardeman: Flickr.com
