Do you want to practice Yoga like a master?

Have you ever wondered how the masters are able to practice the poses with such ease or how they achieve perfect positions while practicing while it is so difficult for you? Here is a earlier post Top 3 Videos of the Masters which shows the videos of masters practicing. It looks as if those yogis have elastic bodies and we would not be able to achieve their heights. Similar feelings may occur when you look at the magazines containing the pictures of the various yogis posing in different asanas.

When we look at these videos we may wonder if we will be able to practice like a master. Is that possible? Will you ever be able to practice like a master? That is a difficult question to answer. One thing to remember is that perfection in any activity needs time and devotion. Masters did not become masters in a day and neither is that possible for anyone to do that. All the effortless moves which we see them performing is result of hundreds of hours of practice under proper guidance.

It should also be remembered that every persons has different body structure, muscle strength etc. It is not right to compare one with another persons. Flexibility and strength are also different for different individuals. Still keeping the individual limitations in mind it is possible to make great progress.

Here are few tips on how to make progress in your Yoga practice.

3 Key Steps For Achieving Mastery in Yoga

1. Practice Under Right Guidance
   If you want to achieve mastery in Yoga poses, constant practice will be required in the right direction along with proper guidance. Practice should be treated as passion instead of being just another hobby or exercise. Though for beginners it may be difficult to have passion for Yoga, but as you continue the practice it will become a passion because of the feel good factor which comes after every intense yoga session.


2. Observing yourself while in the pose
   Try to observe your self and also others in case you practice in group. That will give a great insight into what you are doing right and where improvements are needed. If you want to observe your pose one good way could be using mirror. But it also has its own limitation as you cannot observe yourself in all the positions.
   
   I feel getting photographed in a pose and then observing your positions in the picture is a better way to judge how well you are doing. Try to get photographed from different angles to get a better perspective. Once you see where you are making mistake, try to improve and make adjustments and get photographed again, and again observe the pose in the picture. This is a good way to improve.


3. Interest in Learning
   Try to learn new a new pose every 1 or 2 months. Practicing different poses will help in gaining new perspective as well as progressing well in the current posture. There may be few stiff or weak muscles which can be energized with a alternative pose. Once that happens your progress in the current pose will also improve significantly.

Measuring the progress
Important thing to keep in mind is there should be progress in the pose and that should be measurable. It can be measured in two ways.

Can you reach a more perfect position as compared to before? For example, can you touch the ground instead of just touching the toes with your finger in the forward bend.

Secondly can you stay in the pose longer? For example are you able to stay in Virbhadra Asana for 30 breath counts instead of 20 earlier?

All said and done the basic principle is to practice. More you practice more mastery you can achieve. Another thing to remember is everybody is different, so although you may not be able to reach the pose like the masters in the video what you can achieve can still be called great based on your limitations and practice. So continue your practice and do not put much thought to what you can achieve. You will surprise yourself with the progress you make with constant practice.

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