Is this yoga working?
Being independent in a yoga practice allows us to explore our thoughts without the distractions like a teachers voice, or the circus performance in the corner, and explore our physical abilities. But how can we tell if we are getting better? Is it possible to quantify a physical practice?
I like to focus on health and allowing the physical practice to balance out the other activities I’m engaged in throughout the day, like bending over and lifting Mako up 20+ times a day for feeding, diaper changes, and his random ‘I want to be held’ Some students may focus on the spiritual unity within themselves and dive into philosophy. They are both correct paths, and it doesn’t mean that I only focus on the physical. Some days I focus on thoughts or philosophy, some days, breathing and maximizing the volume of air inhaled and exhaled. Other days I focus on hip positioning and still other days the scapula take my attention.
There are so many things to focus on that it can be hard to subjectively determine if we are getting better within our practice. Stephanie and I have been documenting Mako’s eat/wake/sleep pattern to get a handle on this 4 month old and carving out some time for ourselves. We did this when he was a newborn and quickly gave it up. No new parent has time for that. As he has gotten older we decided to try it again. It is easier now that there is some semblance of a schedule, albeit not completely dialed in.
Documentation of progression is something I had my patients do in regards to their blood pressure, or monitoring a rash with photo documentation, and even food journaling if they were trying to lose weight. So how can this apply to a yoga practice? How can I know if I am getting better without a teacher giving us the next asana, or letting bound hands in Mari C be a determining factor of ‘progression’ there should be some way to determine if we are getting ‘better’ and achieving our goals. There is.
Perceived exertion is how hard you feel like your body is working. It is based on the physical sensations we experience during the physical asana practice. These physical sensations include increased heart rate, increased respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue. Clinically it is called, ‘Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale’ but from here on out we will refer to it as RPE.
The rating is graded from 1-10
Ten means you are at your max effort and you definitely couldn’t do 1 more asana or jump back.
Nine is very close to max effort, but you possibly had one more good jump back left in you.
Eight means you probably had 2 more vinyasa left in you, but were probably at your max for back bends.
Seven means it was difficult but manageable and you probably had 3 more jump back/through’s and another back bend left.
Six means it was moderately difficult but you had plenty of gas left in the tank.
At the end of your practice, in a journal or note on your phone, give yourself a number for the day’s practice.
If you are working on learning how to jump through, or jump back, rehabbing an injury, or learning a particular asana and at the end of your practice you feel like your RPE is a 10, it doesn’t make sense to add another asana or another back bend into your practice.
If your practice was a 6 and you nailed the vinyasa without touching the feet to the mat, or you held the asana for 5 breaths (NOT 5 seconds) you could probably add another vinyasa and/or another back bend into your practice the next time.
In my experience some asana will be a 10 effort for years. Learning how to jump back in each vinyasa without touching is a 9, until it becomes a 6 because something* clicked. It is important to take into consideration that the asana practice is a small victory of the day, and there are usually 12 hours left to pick up children, backpacks, garden, hike, run, skip, dance, cook, move, and eat. Practicing at a 10 and spending the rest of the day in bed, is missing the point of practicing, spiritually and physically.
*That something was working at a consistent 9-10 and not plowing ahead to the next asana for the sake of doing yet another thing half-assed.
