There are many articles available describing how to take responsibility for one’s yoga practice when pain, injuries or other limitations are present. If I hurt, what do I do? Brianna’s article neatly discusses what to do when physical limitations are present. Is that all?

I have discovered in my practice and working with students that it is important open up to the following: while responsibility should be taken when engaging in asana, yoga also has a wider meaning beyond asana. Classically, seven branches of practice in addition to asana include principles for living well, breathwork, meditation and more advanced psycho/social/spiritual practices. In a wider sense, yoga is often thought of as the process of making more complex connections or exploring our relationship to the world in enhanced ways. To this end, everything I do becomes part of practice, of yoga, and each moment becomes an opportunity for healing whether there is a physical stretch involved or not.

My question to you is this: what are YOU up to, and is your practice facilitating this aim?