How Often Should I Practice?

One of the most common questions I am asked is, “How often should I practice yoga?”  Someone asks me this nearly every week.  My stock answer is always that any yoga is better than no yoga, and that really profound changes start to occur in your body if you can practice at least 3 times a week.

However, that’s not really what yoga is about…

Since the effects of yoga are cumulative, the more you practice, the more benefits you accrue.  It becomes a lifestyle choice and commitment that you make to yourself.  You can think of it like eating a healthy diet–if you eat junk food 6 days a week, and eat healthy food 1 day a week, that one day of eating healthy is obviously better for you than eating a full 7 days of junk; but it doesn’t really do you that much good in the long run.  If, however, you make the commitment to eat healthy most of the time, your LIFE is healthy; and that occasional meal of junk isn’t going to hurt you that much, since you’ve built up the benefits of a regular healthy diet.

Yoga is the same.  If you create a lifestyle of regular yoga practice, the benefits will spread into all areas of your life–physically, mentally, and spiritually.  So what do you want from your practice?  If you want one day of healthy eating in a regular diet of junk, come once a week.  But if you want to make real changes in your life, on all levels, then come to class every day.