Anga bhanga: choosing the yoga practice that's best for you

How can we know that a yoga practice is the right one to bring us balance in the long term?

One of my favourite phrases in yoga is anga bhanga.

Apart from being fun to say, it's a great reminder about how to choose practices that really bring balance.

Anga bhanga sadhana means a practice that is useful in one way for our systems, or in one context, but harmful in another. It can also refer to a practice that seems beneficial in the short term, but increases imbalance in the long term.

For example:

We’ve been extremely busy, to the point where we feel restless and can no longer even imagine slowing down. So we choose a fast-paced, energetic practice which feels good to do with all that heightened energy, but keeps our nervous system running in top gear. What would be better is something that starts with big movements that encourage longer breaths, and that eventually slows us down to receive stillness.

Or ...

It’s winter and kapha  (the earth-water quality) settles in and we don’t feel like moving but we need to oil and lubricate our joints and open up some space in our body to breathe well. We feel like huddling in a tight ball or staying under a blanket, but a moving, gently warming practice would bring much better balance.

Or ...

We might use slowing, grounding & calming practices to alleviate complex, continuing stress. They make us feel temporarily better but they don’t cultivate the energy and courage we need to create good boundaries or change our situation. We might be better off with a practice that nurtures our confidence & sense of personal power, least some of the time.

Or ....

We might feel tired and sleepy, and reach for an enlivening practice to wake up & energise, but what we really need is deep replenishing rest, so we accidentally end up draining our reserves further. A yoga nidra or a restful restorative practice would be more balancing in the long run.

Initiating a truly balancing practice can be a challenge though, because the practices that really balance us are not always the ones we're immediately drawn to!

A great tip I learned from Mental Health Aware teacher training and trauma sensitive training is to start where you are. 

In other words, start with something that matches the current energy intensity in your system, and gradually move into more balancing practices. That’s why my short practices for busy people often start with some movement before leading to stillness.

If you’d like to learn more about choosing a practice that suits your unique mind-body nature, life and priorities, I have a recorded seminar available for you here:

Does your practice bring you balance?

You’re very welcome to get in touch if you’d like some guidance.

With love,

Alison