Prompters

My message is for those who study independently, and as an instructor, he uses video or audio lessons. I call them "prompters": they say - I repeat and do not lag behind.

At first glance, nothing harmful in this. The benefits of the exercises done, albeit copied, will still be. And it is much better than not doing anything at all. However, there are some nuances.

For a long time it seemed to me that it was better to repeat after someone than to do myself. Allegedly, you do not get distracted and achieve more. You learn from experience and develop. The whole process is visually presented, and you feel support... But! Cons have any approach, and this is no exception.

Problems that arise with the "prompters":

1. Passivity. You are dealing with a finished product, you don’t have to reach anything yourself. Everything is chewed and digested. It makes you passive and lazy;
2. Someone else's sensations, someone else's thoughts, someone else's experience. All the experiences in this practice are not yours. You are outside, not inside. You are not looking there. Everything will pass you by, as you try to reproduce someone else's experience;
3. Addiction. Constant absorption of someone's beliefs and thoughts is addictive. You start to wait for the "magic kick" from the side. Your endorsements and instructions are vital. Praises of others become your goal and incentive. Intrinsic motivation is gradually fading;
4. Mismatch. It is difficult to find the right set of exercises for you. Everyone has their own problems and different levels of training. You are very lucky if the practice has the effect that was actually thought of.

All these problems with the "prompters" are quite simple to solve. One thing is necessary: to learn to refuse them in time. Instead of turning on a video you've already watched hundreds of times, turn on your favorite music or just stay in silence. You already know everything by heart and can freely practice without being accompanied. Enough of shifting your work to others, you need to gather your courage and do everything you need with your own hands.

Freed from the "prompters", you will receive:

1. Concentration. You will no longer wait for someone to correct you or pull you up and, accordingly, you will be more concentrated and collected;
2. Your pace, your level. There is no need to rush and keep up. You can adjust and adapt anything for yourself. You will be your own master;
3. Privacy. You will only be with you. This has a positive effect on mental health and often leads to meditative states;
4. Confidence. Intuitively, you will begin to do what you like and what you need. The process of "groping" the truth will give you confidence in your abilities, and you will see the direction in which you should move.

In order for these advantages to gain full strength, should begin to study asanas in order to correct errors in the technique. During a blind repetition or, more precisely, copying, deviations inevitably arise in practice, which either simply interfere or lead the wrong path and can cause harm. Practice in such a state will not be miraculous, to which any of us aspires. It is necessary to stop memorizing external forms, and begin to get into the essence of asanas, understand the purpose and role of each of them. What muscles and ligaments need to strain, which on the contrary relax. What should be breathing and body position. What thoughts and ideas are required in the process of implementation. All these little things are very important, and you should not expect that someone else will take care of this for you.

Though they say: "Yoga is 99% of practice and 1% of theory", without theory it won't work anyway!

To improve the theoretical component of your yoga, there are many applications, websites and books where you can gather all the necessary information and take the practice to a new level.

Unfortunately, I can only specify Russian resources, look for by analogy.

Resources 📚

• Yoga. The path to absolute health - the best book by B.K.S. Iyengar 👳‍♂️
• Yoga23 - Application for iOs. A huge selection of asanas for beginners and experienced practitioners 💪
• yoga.ru - asana encyclopedia. Iyengar Yoga 🕌
• yogatrain.ru - the most complete catalog of asanas and yogic exercises... so says the author of the site 😅
• 2,100 asanas All yoga in one book - a paper guide, for those who are really pros 🤓