Experiential rather than intellectual

One of the many reasons why Yoga asana practices had become so globally well received is the inner experiences one felt after a practice - the sense of a step back to equilibrium. Due to the many ways we used our physical body in every activities, the physical body (and thus also affecting the mental body) has moved into inequilibruum of many sorts, thus leading to unease. Many had even gone into dis-ease. The design of the asana practices allow the physical (and as well the mental) to ease itself back to its free state - sense of ease and stability. When circulation within the body becomes less hindered, the practitioner experienced an indescribable intimacy - sense of calm. If the body is able to form a new habit that constantly allow the body to stay as comfortably steady, one may be more naturally ready to explore his/her next level of spiritual practice. We are seeing a bigger proportion of intellectualisation of what and how should Yoga be, instead of simply allowing oneself to step onto the mat and let the experience unfold. We never know what's awaiting...

A Life Program rather than a Life-style activity

It's good to come into Yoga practice due the trends set by celebrities, big names in the corporate world, politicians, etc. If your practice allows you to begin understanding yourself more intimately, it will be good to gradually apply the principles taught from the poses, breathing techniques, etc, into our daily life - turning Yoga practices into daily living experiences, becoming your unique Life Program, and no more one of another consumable activity. If we have the daily conditions to practise the poses, it will be a bonus, otherwise we can translate the pointers instructed from the teacher during a class into our daily postural habits. Ultimately, what Yoga likes to educate us iswhat we should do, and not what we cannot do, which created alot of misperceptions that if one goes too "deep",one disaassociates from one's life. That is one of the many ways to engage in Yoga practice without stepping onto the mat or a studio. Are we ready to live Yogic-ally?

Be interested more of yourself rather than others

Too many a times, we might not have noticed that we tended to 'observe' how others in the class are progressing, rather than that more intimate connection of our own body and mind. We allow our senses to latch on to others' way of tying their hair, the height of their raised legs, the ongoing commentaries of others' practices, etc. This becomes not much of a difference of ourselves in our usual daily lives when we are attending a class to be guided to experience a greater intimacy with ourselves. It is a private and personal date with ourselves, we have to respect the date, like the way we put ourselves up at our best during the first date with a person we like. Are you ready to date, again?

Action rather than Movement

Many classes have diluted themselves to simply move the body segments to flow from one to another pose, lacking in the understanding to use the appropriate connective tissues and skeletal structure to abduct, adduct, extend, flex, etc, in order to create the stability before allowing the pose benefits to set in. More often than not, most practitioners end up simply moving bodily parts in carbon copying what the instructors and other students present. At the same time, the instructions shared to the class are of movement oriented than action oriented. Are we also flowing with the main stream trend or we may like to act on what is really beneficial to our personal growth in our daily experiences too?

Relaxed rather than Collapsed

Though we are engaged in the poses, we are at the same time relaxed. We isolate our breath away from the muscular work and breath in a relaxing manner. The jaws are not clenched, the teeth are not biting, the tongue is not hard, the anus is not squeezed, etc. Neither are we in a collapsed mode where we simply let all consciousness drop down to gravity and just physically present ourselves on the mat, but with no awareness to our bodily sensations. Are we going through our daily lives in an engaged and relaxed way or simply tensed up and with no awareness to why, what and how we are doing what we are doing?

Engaged rather than Tensed

One of the many approaches seen on practitioners is being tensed rather than being engaged. Many may bring an intention to a class to achieve, to accomplish, to attain, to pursue, etc, and give themselves a "no pain, no gain" approach when they practise the poses. This is one of the many worldly habits we bring to yet another class in the practitioner's point of view, which is a conditioning from other 'classes' since young - school class, extra curriculum class, tuition class, swimming class, piano class, ...class..es....etc...The nature of a Yoga class is to empower oneself to engage in the guidance of the teacher and with no agenda to fulfil. This will allow oneself to experience what unfolds from each class. We slowly understand how 1 muscle work affect another bone's responding action, etc, and deepen one's understanding how this miraculous entity called the BODY, functions, and gradually translate this new physical and mental awareness out of our mats into our daily activities. We are then ENGAGED in our own lives, and not simply being led and got tensed up....

Feeling rather than Thinking

We are highly geared to think and we also bring this mode of mind to a class. Thinking is a result from filtering sensory input through many layers within the mind process and within split seconds, we react. Many times, we see ourselves concurrently following a teacher's demonstration (either by himself or using another student's body) of certain poses, almost imitating, rather than to wait for the step-by-step instruction from the teacher after the demonstration. We almost always like to get a-HEAD (brain thinking). In the process, we miss out the experience of feeling ourselves attempting the poses and get ahead to present a form/shape. This seems very much alike of us in the modern day to get as many things done as possibly within a short period of time. Let's slow things down, and allow the Heart to feel. It's to be safer and respectful to the body's strengths and limitations.