Find Your Edge With Yoga

In yoga, you often hear teachers telling you to "find your edge" in your practice. Find the place where you are challenging yourself, but not pushing yourself too hard. It's the sweet spot where progress is made. But what does that really mean?

Look for the sweet spot

Imagine you are making candy. You begin with a sugar syrup. As it boils, the liquid evaporates, thickening into candy goodness. But if you boil it too fast or too long, the sugar syrup can end up a burnt, sticky mess.

If you want to make progress with your yoga practice, you need to add the right amount of heat as well. Not enough and you won't be working toward change; Too much and you risk hurting yourself. When you learn how to practice at your edge, it becomes easier to build strength and improve your flexibility, while lessening the risk of injury.

Tune into your body

At its core, yoga is simply breath linked to movement. This means that your breath is an excellent tool for gauging your effort during practice. Your breath should be steady and even in every pose. Struggling for breath, or holding your breath, is a sign that you should back off.

In vinyasa yoga, ujjayi pranayama is used as a steady rhythm for your practice. This is an audible breath that comes from the base of your throat, flowing both in and out through your nose. When you lose the ujjayi breath, simply bring your focus back to its sound and rest in child's pose if you need a short break.

The feel of your body also helps determine your edge. Your muscles should be working, and may shake with effort, but they should not hurt. When stretching, you may feel a pulling sensation, but it should not be painful. Remember that progress will come over time with slow, steady effort.

Any pain in your joints or spine is a clear reason to back out of the pose. Ask your teacher for modifications after class and always see a doctor if any pain persists.

Tune into your mind

Your edge will change from one pose to another, and from one day to another. Sometimes it can be difficult to gauge how hard to push yourself, especially when you make the decision based on ego or fear instead of the way you actually feel.

Signs that you may be listening to your ego instead of your body:

• You are thinking about how your pose looks to others in the room.
• You are determined to take the pose as far as you have on other days.
• You are feeling upbeat, as if you can do anything. 

Signs that you may be letting fear keep you from safely challenging yourself:

• You are telling yourself that you aren't strong enough or flexible enough. 
• You have recently recovered from an illness or injury.
• You are feeling down, as if you can't do anything right. 

Talk to your yoga teacher to find safe modifications for easing into a new pose, taking a pose to a new depth or when coming back to your practice after a break. Practice listening to your body and breath. Know that your goal is to find your personal edge, not to reach any particular depth in a pose.

Finding your edge in daily life

Off the mat, you can also use this balance of effort and ease to affect change in other areas of your life. Consider the yoga concepts of tapas (heat) and santosa (contentment).

Tapas and santosa are two of the five niyamas, a set of tools for self-observation and self-control, which are part of the traditional Eight Limbs of Yoga. Tapas refers to the heat or effort needed to motivate you to reach your goals, while santosa focuses on accepting yourself the way you are and being content with what you already have.

With too much tapas, and not enough santosa, you may be driven to succeed without appreciating what you have already achieved. On the other hand, too much santosa, without the balance of tapas, keeps you from feeling the motivation needed to grow and reach your goals.

Learning how to find your edge will help you gain confidence and make progress both in your yoga practice and in other aspects of your life.