Give Yoga a Rest

Although there are super-teachers who say that even when they are sick they continue their physical yoga practice, I’m not one of them. I usually tell students to notice when their bodies are clearly signaling to take a full and complete rest.

I’ll never forget the look on one of my students face when she asked me if, because she wasn’t feeling good, should she take an extra class that day and I told her to go straight home and to bed for the rest of the day! She just kept saying, “My yoga teacher just told me to go to sleep at 6pm!”
I recently experienced a bout of stomach virus and realized that any drastic activities, even my usual walks, were contributing to my feelings of fatigue, especially since I wasn’t eating much.

It took me a day or two but I finally got the hang of taking naps, sleeping-in and slowing down. I did listen to my favorite chants and continued my mantra meditations but mostly I tried to create more stillness in my life while my body was talking to me.