How often you practice yoga will completely depend on what you want to achieve from it and whether you are a beginner or looking to move your practice to the next level. My yoga goals are to learn to relax and focus on mental strength, along with working on my core and arm strength. I looked up how often I should be practicing yoga a week to achieve these things and found that its recommended to have a short daily practice to gain the mental strength, but for my physical goals I just need a longer practice 2-3 times a week. How many times you should practice yoga weekly will depend on if you are a beginner or more experienced, along with a variety of other considerations.
If you are a beginner it might be best to do a short practice each day to keep you in the habit and get your body used to the poses, while also doing a longer practice in a classroom 2 or 3 times a week. I know when I first started practicing yoga that my body really had to get used to doing some of the poses. You can get into something that looks sort of like downward facing dog, but you must learn how to really pay attention to what each part of your body is doing during a pose. Are you lifting your hips? Are you pushing your heels towards the ground? Are your arms by your ears? There’s so much to think about for each pose so it’s important to take some time each day to practice on your own, but also be in a classroom where they can help guide you.
If you are someone who has practiced yoga for a while and want to take your practice to the next level by trying more advanced poses, you may want to extend your daily practice. This will give you time to build on what you already know and really get mentally prepared for more physically and mentally challenging poses. I’ve been practicing yoga for a while but still haven’t mastered crow pose. This summer I’ve decided to get good at it by adding a crow pose practice at the end of each of my workouts. It seems silly that at this point I haven’t mastered crow pose but I’ve always been a little afraid of inversion poses so I’d like to overcome this starting with crow pose!
Honestly, how often or how long you practice yoga is completely up to you and what you want to achieve. Count it as a success any time you go to your mat. Life is crazy and unpredictable so if you are making an effort and remembering to take care of yourself, that’s what counts. I’d encourage you to think about what you want out of yoga and how you can achieve what that is. Even if that means merely attempting a simple sun salutation or a quick 10-minute morning practice. Good luck on your journey! 🙂
