I just announced the winner for a free private yoga session with yours truly (congrats Saisie!) and I was thinking about how jazzed I would have been (heck, would still be) to win a free private yoga lesson. Let me tell you why:

Whether you are new to yoga or have been practicing for years everyone can benefit from an in depth look at how you move your body. The human body is a complicated piece of machinery and unfortunately it doesn’t come with a user manual.

We learn how to move our bodies through trial and error as we stumble our way into life  and observe those around us who learned the same way. I challenge you to take a look around next time you are in a busy place and watch how people move their bodies. Toes in, toes out, shoulders up, shoulders forward, with a limp, quickly, slowly… the list goes on. When there are so many different ways to move how do we know what is best for us?

In general if someone wants to learn how to do yoga, they go to an hour-long, group class with people of all different bodies and abilities and do their best to do what the teachers tells them to. No in depth personalized instruction, just the cues that best fit the need of the most people in the room.

Our bodies are all built differently though. Different muscular and skeletal advantages and limitations. Your down dog and you fellow yogis down dog might look nothing alike and that is OK.

Did you ever want to stop in the middle of class and say “um, excuse me, but what do you mean lift my ribcage or lift my inner arch while grounding down through my big toe?”. You are not alone. Private lessons are your chance to do just that. Even if you don’t have questions you can’t see what your body is doing when you practice. Having someone observe and tell you how to move deeper or make subtle adjustments to make the poses feel better can have a profound impact on your body.

Long story short, private yoga is great! If you can do it, give yourself your best chance at being healthy and strong and take a private lesson!