Is a yoga home practice considered just as effective and good for you as one done in an actual class? I have been contemplating buying another membership to a studio versus joining a website that streams real classes from around the United States…
Absolutely a home practice can be just as effective (even more effective) than practicing at a studio. There’s really no yoga that’s any better than another. Whatever works for you and inspires you to practice as much as you can is very effective. My recommendation is that you do what will allow you to practice the most. If home is more cost effective, saves you time and is easier to fit into your day to day life, then by all means don’t feel like you are doing a lesser form of yoga. Personal daily practice (which can take many different forms) is actually one of the highest forms of practice.
LTL,
In order to determine what you ask, the intention of the student would have to be revealed. A determination of the efficiency of home versus class practice could not possibly be ascertained (without that) as each person will have a different definition of “effect”.
As an example, we know far too many who view asana as an exercise or fitness routine. For that person the two choices you offer may be completely equal. Sweating your buns off at a class or sweating them off at home, same animal.
In contrast, a student looking to foster alignment in their asana practice, that person would need the guidance of a clean, experienced, teacher. Ergo for that person, while a home practice is important, the class practice would be profoundly “more effective”. Obviously this presumes a skilled teacher.
There is a unity and harmony available in a class setting that is not always accessible in a solo home practice especially to a neophyte. However, at home there are fewer scheduling boundaries and that home practice can be custom tailored to the student’s changing needs; of the moment, hour, day, week, year, et al.
Both a home practice and class practice are very helpful but in different ways. I find that a video that cannot see me cannot really teach me (over time). Instruct poses, sure. Teach me? Not so much. But that is me. Find what works for you. I look forward to your future report.
gordon
Gordon and Kbren,
Your comments are very helpful. I have done a home based practice everyday for a few years now because of finances and just having a very closed schedule. The reason I do yoga is to help me manage my stress, to help with my breathing, to build strength and flexibility, and to generally be on a deeper connected level with my body. I take online classes where I watch the teacher instruct other students on how to do the pose correctly but am feeling like I want to advance my practice even further and I feel like I have not been able to.
I’m coming from a student perspective here - not as a teacher - but what I have found is that going to a class once or twice a week, in addition to doing my home (asana, meditation & pranayama) practice is the best of both worlds (for me).
As a side note…I’ve also recently become aware (after 2 years of yoga classes) of the difference between a ‘teacher’ and a ‘leader’. It may not seem huge - and I had never given it any thought before - but when I stopped to think about it - it IS big.
I’ve recently been searching for a new teacher (going to different classes/studios/instructors) and in the process, realized that the different classes I had been attending in the past were not necessarily yoga teaching environments but rather yoga [I]leading[/I] environments.
I’ve recently started going to a teacher who actually TEACHES - rather than simply leading us in a yoga routine. The difference is massive. Not only in what I feel in my body and what I am learning but what I feel with my emotions. One emotion that comes to the surface frequently in class is being ticked off…because I feel like such a newbie and my mind (ego) doesn’t want to be a newbie!
Living to learn, it does sound like possibly practicing at a studio may help to guide you in the direction you are looking to go. Congratulations on having the discipline and will to practice daily at home. I teach at a gym and a studio and really encourage my students to practice at home, even if it is only for 10 minutes a day. A lot of the knowledge we gain in yoga is intuitive and experiential. Practicing is just a part of being on the path. Whatever you decide, best of luck to you! A question i ask my students often…where are you in a hurry to go? There is no finish line…maybe you try this pose today and maybe you can do it…maybe you can’t do it… You’re not finished either way. You come back tomorrow and you do it all over again.