How to get the most out of your Yoga practice

You should have 1 instructor whose classes you attend regularly. I am amazed at how few people have an actual yoga teacher nowadays.  Sure, you may attend yoga classes regularly but if you are not following an individual Yoga teacher for a period of time you are not getting the most out of your practice.  Of course you can occasionally step out of your regular Yoga teachers class and try out other teachers but ultimately 90%+ of your classroom training should take place with your regular teacher.  The longer you train the more variety of teachers you can have but the average student would benefit from spending 2-3 years with 1 individual teacher. When I chose my teachers I chose people who were way ahead of me in the practice so I could have something to aspire to.   

You will take classes with this teacher on a very fixed schedule.  You should go to class whether you feel like it or not.

 "Moods are for cattle and love-play, not for fighting." something like that from Dune

Nearly everybody who goes to yoga classes is in some sort of fight.  If you're trying to lose weight/get in shape you are fighting your body and its tendencies that got you fat and unfit in the first place.  If you are attending yoga classes for the emotional or spiritual release it offers you are in a fight with your lower self.  If an overweight person attended his/her yoga classes only when they felt perfectly up to it they would be overweight for the rest of their life.  If a student with depression only attended classes when they felt depressed they would suffer from depression for the rest of their life.  This is the equivalent of using Yoga classes as a drug.  Yoga should not be used as a drug which only offers temporary relief. Yoga is a progressive system that is capable of helping you with all of  your emotional ailments.  This will only work if you attend classes whether you feel like it or not!

My own depression is what attracted me to yoga in the first place.  On my worse days I remember just sitting around all day waiting to take class with my teacher.  It was such a huge relief for me when class time rolled around.  Sure,  there were occasionally days where I did not feel like getting my ass to class but I would go anyway. By the time class was over I felt like a new person.  Attending classes regularly with 1 teacher for a long period of time had an amazing effect on me.