1) Practicing outside increases your skill and muscles for balance.
When we go through balance postures outdoors, we cannot turn to or rely on a bar, beam, wall to balance. We offer our students to “fix their gaze on a star, sunset or cloud” as we were in a pose, to help them develop their focus. Nothing is stable outside. While in Ardha Chandrasana, (Half Moon Pose) the gaze towards the moon is an amazing experience and really, there are no walls for solidity on the way up. Proprioception is mastered balancing outside, and helps improve your balance back at home.
2) Practicing outside helps develop inner strength and stability.
While often we desire to do our meditation and practice inside in a quiet and controlled “AC” environment, if it’s too cool, we turn the AC off….if it’s too loud, we close the door. Or, we crank up some tunes. None of this is possible outdoors. One learns to “welcome” the breeze and sound of birds while practicing on the terrace and while you might sweat during the hotter months, the external “natural elements” is a great, healthy distraction. But working hard is not determined by the amount of sweat one produces, that is a myth. Working hard is determined by the amount of focus one is able to apply to NOT let anything distract you. It’s quite a feat to gain strength when the outer elements are also part of the practice. When we can “welcome” those natural elements, we become stronger and more stable in all aspects of our life. There is less requiring things to be a certain way and more acceptance for things as they are at this moment.
3) Practicing outdoors aligns you with Nature.
It is just amazing for your skin, your glow, your respiratory system, your stress levels (cortisol) and connecting to the greatest of living things, our planet. For those of us who’ve been on a yoga retreat or simply enjoying the outdoors on holiday, you might never forget the amazing sunsets, surrounding nature, wildlife, gorgeous views of turquoise, green, blue ocean and white sands blending into each other, and the fresh feeling of being reconnected with nature’s finest.
Hence, just some of the reasons why we encourage any yogi to develop a meditation and practice outdoors especially being cooped up indoors the whole day. It is not only a benefit to ourselves, but a means of loving and appreciating our planet. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali explain that perfection in our practice is achieved when we are unaffected by the dualities. And trust us when we say, once you break into a sweat outdoors at Yogalates, it will only feel sweeter and welcoming throughout the session with the breeze cooling you down during savasana, under the stars, by the pool, overlooking the ocean on the horizon, on the 7th floor. Bliss!
Join us at Yogalates every Monday and Wednesday at 7:15 PM – book your first session online: www.yogalatesblissindubai.com
Yogalates Bliss in Dubai Blog 