Practice At Your Level During Class

You go to class, and the level of practice is below your level. Do you:

A) Throttle it back, and go with the level of the class, or

B) Practice at your own level regardless of the teacher and class.

Now, I'm not talking about heading off in your own direction during class. What's the point of attending, if you are just gonna do your own thing?

No. I'm talking about practicing at your level within the poses on offer.

Here's some examples:

Teacher has the class come into side plank and lift the top leg up. Do you catch the toes and extend or just lift the leg a bit?

Teacher has the class come into ardha chandrasana. You are used to lifting the bottom hand. Do you do this or leave the lower hand on the floor?

Here's the answer:

Will you be practicing the pose in the full variation in the next couple of days? Now.

If you will be practicing the full variation in the next couple of days, it doesn't matter whether you go full variation or throttled back.

If  you will not be practicing the full variation in the next couple of days, then you had best go full variation.

If you keep throttling back your practice during class, and class is the only yoga you are getting in, then eventually you'll lose the ability to get into the full variation.

That's why it's called PRACTICE!

Now, onto whether you look like a show off or not if you do practice the full version.

Show off to who? Those who don't have the fortitude to achieve? Gimme a break. Same deal. 

If you let people with less ability than you, dictate your capabilities, well, it won't be long till you join them.

CU in class, J.