Moving beyond the classroom
For many students, yoga is something that happens only when a teacher is in the room. You roll out your mat, follow the sequence provided, and wait for the cues. This is a necessary and beautiful stage of learning. But in the Iyengar tradition, the ultimate goal of the teacher is to equip you with the tools to practice on your own.
A personal practice is not simply doing yoga alone in your living room. It is a fundamental shift in how you relate to your body and your nervous system.
Developing self-discernment
When you have a personal practice, you become your own authority. You learn to assess what your body needs on any given day. Are you fatigued and in need of restorative poses? Are you agitated and in need of grounding standing poses? Do you need to modify a posture because of a new physical limitation?
"Over time they are developing those tools. They are developing self-awareness, self-discernment." — Tiffany Bergin
This self-discernment is built slowly, over time, through the guidance of a qualified teacher. The teacher shows you how to feel the alignment in your body, how to distinguish between healthy sensation and pain, and how to use props to find stability. As you internalize these lessons, you begin to trust your own inner voice. You learn to ask yourself: "What would Tiffany say? What would Tiffany do?" And eventually, you don't need to ask. You just know.