Repetition is a cornerstone of any dedicated yoga practice. But how many times should you repeat a pose before moving on, or before questioning what you're repeating?
When we're working towards a posture, it's natural to want to try again and again. We often equate effort with progress. Yet sometimes, despite all that effort, things don’t seem to shift. We push, we persist, but our body and mind remain stuck in familiar patterns. These ruts we fall into are not just physical; they are reflections of deeper conditioning, samskaras, the imprints left by past actions, thoughts, and experiences.
If you’re curious about the concept of samskaras, check out last week’s post where we started the conversation. This week, let’s explore how repetition can either reinforce unhealthy patterns or be used as a tool for transformation.
The body and mind are intelligent—they remember. When we practice a pose repeatedly without reflection, we may unintentionally strengthen dysfunctional patterns. This might look like pushing into a shape using force rather than awareness, bracing through pain, or simply repeating the same cue without noticing whether it’s helping.
So how do we know when repetition is serving us, and when it’s time to pause?
It starts with curiosity. Rather than asking, "Why can’t I do this pose yet?", a more powerful question might be: "What am I actually practicing when I do this?" Are we reinforcing tension? Avoidance? Impatience? Or are we developing presence, ease, and resilience?
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna reminds Arjuna:
"Let a man lift himself by his own Self alone, and let him not lower himself; for this Self alone is the friend of oneself, and this Self alone is the enemy of oneself."
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6, Verse 5
We hold the power to become our own best ally or to get in our own way. By practicing with awareness, we can lift ourselves out of old patterning. When we notice that our repetitions aren't bringing clarity or change, it’s time to go deeper. That doesn't always mean pushing harder, sometimes it means shifting the way we practice entirely. Trying a prop. Trying a different cue. Or simply taking a step back to re-pattern the breath and the mind.
Ultimately, the process of observing, adjusting, and re-approaching a pose is more valuable than the pose itself. It’s here that the real yoga happens, not in the perfect shape, but in the inquiry. In that space of noticing, we come back to neutral. We find freedom from the grooves we’ve carved unconsciously and begin to move with intention.
So next time you're repeating a posture, pause and ask: What am I repeating? And is it serving me?
Keep practicing. Keep noticing.