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| The Little Yogi Inside Us All |
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by Lisa B. Minn, PT - May 16, 2011
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 I have always believed that yoga is a familiar and natural practice that stems from our innate desire to move. Just watch kids or animals for a while and you will see that Down Dog is universal. Part of my philosophy for teaching is to help people reconnect to the familiar feeling of moving freely and breathing deeply.
Sometimes yoga practice can be very regimented. Teachers and therapists often require clients to hold a posture with exact alignment, or to do a certain number of breaths or to find a particular muscle to strengthen within a pose. Ashtanga and Iyengar classes are like this. Other styles of yoga are more fluid or free-form. I think we need them both. The more regimented styles are great for improving our strength, endurance and focus. They are like practicing scales on the piano or layups on the basketball court. They teach us fundamentals and discipline. But more free-form yoga teaches us how to be creative and how to listen more carefully to our bodies and inner wisdom. The musician who can improvise on the spot and the athlete who can perform on game day are displaying that balance between having practiced the fundamentals and knowing how to respond to the present moment.
Some teachers may present opportunities to listen to our own bodies and express some creativity during their classes. Angela Farmer is one such teacher. But for me, a home practice is where I can do my most creative and natural practice. I may start off with Ashtanga-style sun salutations but as I begin to move, my body-wisdom will let me know what to do next. Instead of thinking about what to do, I can feel what I need to do. It might be more hip openers, maybe an invigorating inversion or perhaps more restful and contemplative poses. Sometimes I might even end up dancing!
How do you balance discipline and creativity in your practice? What kind of practice feels most natural to you? Does yoga ever make you feel like a kid again?
Lisa Minn is a licensed physical therapist and yoga enthusiast. She has been incorporating aspects of Yoga and Pilates into her physical therapy practice since 2001 and became a certified yoga instructor in 2004. Her experience ranges from working with athletes at West Point and Georgetown to instructing elderly and wheelchair-bound clients in the fundamentals of Hatha Yoga. Lisa has conducted several lectures and workshops across the US, as well as in Honduras and Peru, where she volunteered her services. She currently resides and practices in Northern California. This and other articles by Lisa can be found at The Pragmatic Yogi.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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