I can still picture it.
Rodney Yee practising by the sea, moving slowly through Warrior poses. The sound of the waves in the background. That calm, unhurried way of teaching.
I don’t remember what I had for dinner last Thursday, but I remember that DVD.
For a while, it was part of my Saturday morning. I would put it on, roll out my mat and follow along.
There was no YouTube then and no app full of classes to scroll through. I had the DVD, a handful of practices to choose from and one teacher I came back to again and again.
I knew what was coming next.
And I liked that.
When there wasn’t so much choice
These days, we have thousands of yoga classes available whenever we want them. That can be brilliant. You can choose the length, style, teacher and focus that suits you that day.
But sometimes all that choice makes it harder to begin.
Please tell me I’m not the only person who has spent longer choosing a yoga class than actually doing one.
Back then, there wasn’t much deciding to do. I pressed play and got on with it.
Because I returned to those practices so often, the movements became familiar. I wasn’t using all my attention trying to work out what was coming next. I could notice how the poses felt that day.
Sometimes balance was easier. Sometimes my hips felt tighter. Sometimes something that had felt difficult began to feel a little more comfortable.
The practice was familiar, but I wasn’t always arriving in the same place.
Why I teach my Flow classes in a series
Looking back, I wonder if that’s one of the reasons I now teach my Flow classes in a series.
We don’t repeat exactly the same class every week. We come back to familiar movements over a few weeks and gradually build on them. There might be a different variation, a new transition or a change of focus, but there is usually something students recognise.
That familiarity gives you a chance to settle into the practice rather than feeling as though you are starting from scratch each time.
You might remember where your feet go in a pose or recognise part of the flow. That leaves a little more room to notice what is happening in your own body.
And it won’t always be the same.
A balance that felt steady last week might feel wobbly today. A movement might suddenly make more sense. Or you may simply notice that you are tired and need to take things more gently.
That is all part of the practice too.
Familiar doesn’t have to mean boring
We can sometimes assume that progress means doing something newer, harder or more complicated.
But there is value in returning.
It gives you time to get to know a movement rather than simply passing through it. You begin to notice the smaller details. You can feel what has changed, what still needs time and what your body is asking for that day.
Perhaps that’s why I still remember that DVD all these years later.
It wasn’t different every Saturday. I didn’t need it to be.
Sometimes there’s real value in simply coming back.