Yoga should provide a moment to relax, let go and focus on… well ideally on nothing but yourself, just living in the moment! However, because of how fast-paced life can be or because of the many activities and commitments we juggle, sometimes we don't make the best of our practice. 

Sometimes it is easy to not enjoy our practice because of the many things going on it our minds, and it is not uncommon to feel unsatisfied with the results after leaving the mat. But then, as with everything, our practice is all about flow: sometimes there are good moments and sometimes there are not-so-great ones! All we can do is learn from them and put our learnings into practice. 

Here are five simple ways you can impact your practice for the better, if you feel it needs to hit the refresh button:

1. Clear your mind and listen to your body

Busy lives mean busy minds, so it isn't surprising that it’s hard to tune off the many to-do lists and commitments in your day (lunch yoga at 12pm, meeting at 1.30pm, school pick up at 3pm?). To ensure they don’t impact your practice, spend 5 minutes meditating before you start. You can either take the moment to cram all your thoughts before you start your practice, or simply to clear your mind, breathe in and let go of the day stresses. The idea is that you use that time so that when you start to move you only focus in the moment and position.

Remember too to listen to your body and flow with your energy levels. Not every practice has to be an acrobatic, heart pumping session - if you are feeling a little tired spend a bit more time on child’s pose, or if you are feeling a little sore maybe focus on breathing and poses that work on stretching the big muscle groups. 

2. Don’t hold back

Let go of any worry and simply flow. Yes, that boat pose at the end of the sequence might be a struggle, and so are the chaturangas in the vinyasa, but by simply letting go and doing the best you can in the moment will make you feel a lot more satisfied and confident. After all, you might not ace every pose but you know you gave it your all. As with the previous point, it might be worth spending a couple of minutes before your practice mentally going through your worries and backing yourself to do your best in the moment. There is nothing like the satisfaction of doing whatever you set off to do.

* if it is an injury you are concerned about, or any pain you might be feeling, speak to a practitioner or a yoga teacher before attempting to do anything.

3. Seek help or guidance

Don’t expect to know everything, if you have any questions or are just curious about different ways you can improve your practice reach out to yoga teachers or experts. They might have some nifty tips to improve your postures, or ideas on how to improve your practice altogether. They are there to help you, so tap into their knowledge and take their suggestions with you.

4. Have the correct platform and environment

Your practice is as much about yourself as it is about your surroundings. It would be hard to focus on a downward dog if you have children running rounds around you or your phone buzzing every 5 seconds. At the same time there is nothing worse than a slippery mat during pose transitions, or an alarm going off in the distance during savasana. 

Finding your best environment for your practice is important. For example, if you sweat a lot, you want a mat that gets grippier as you sweat (like our Pro mats) or if you don't, something that grips instantly (like our Onyx mats). Maybe having surrounding music can really help relax you, or simply being surrounded by nature and listening to the birds in the park is just the ticket.

Whatever works for you, find it and continue to evolve it. There are many studios that offer classes with a variety of surroundings (from hot yoga to yoga with goats) so look around and find what works for you. 

5. Have fun 

It seems silly but remember to not take it too seriously! Yes, you want to make the most of your time and actually reap the rewards of a strong and focused practice, but if you don’t enjoy yourself and have fun then you might not leave feeling your best. Everyone’s practice is different, that is what makes yoga so special! Find what you love about yours and look for the best way to enjoy it, be it the right teacher, the right environment and even the right type of yoga that fits that (you can see the different types of yoga here). More importantly, make sure that whatever you do, you enjoy yourself! 

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