Question:

What do you think about doing yoga at home? I have been attending classes for some time and know the postures but am a little worried about injury. Do you think it's safe?

Answer:
Yoga practice at home can be approached safely. I have spent many hours with my head in books teaching myself correct postures but I also believe that the one-on-one or class environment is very beneficial and hard to replace.

If we decide to learn at home we need to be careful and not take our joints to a large range or push ourselves to deep flexibility. It is essential that we slow down and listen to our bodies and ensure that a steady but also comfortable posture is maintained. After all the postures traditionally were for meditating in, so we need to keep that in perspective. Each posture should be safe, comfortable and steady to provide that space for deeper levels of yoga practice through concentration to occur.

Trust yourself, when you are present you know if what you are doing is right or not but be sensible, consistent and allow the practice to unfold for you.

Duncan Peak — yoga expert
www.powerliving.com.au