There are about a gajillion benefits of practicing yoga ranging from the physical to the spiritual and lots of things in between. But if we’re being honest, there are a lot of activities you can do to help you stretch and strengthen your muscles. Meditating for 10 minutes a day takes less time than a full yoga practice, and it can give you many of the same benefits of a full yoga practice. 

What’s so magical about yoga? For me, it’s the combination of movement and mindfulness that allows me to tap into my intuition, the body’s amazing, built-in wisdom, that sets yoga apart from any other mindfulness or movement based practice I’ve tried. I call it intuition yoga.

In this post, I’m sharing 3 of my favorite ways to use yoga to tap into your intuition. If you’re practicing, there’s a good chance you’re honing your intuition anyway–these things will help you enhance it even more.

Intuition Yoga: 3 Ways to Use Yoga to Tap Into Your Intuition

Do the Wiggle 

I’ve stopped explaining this in my regular yoga classes because my students understand this very scientific sounding, alignment-based cue: “Do the Wiggle” and “Wiggle it out.” I cue wiggles from Tabletop Pose (hands and knees), Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), and Chair Pose (Utkatasana). 

Why do I do this? Because it is a really good way to loosen up the muscles, find spots that feel stuck that you might not feel otherwise, and also focus on the parts of your body that FEEL GOOD! 

It’s a lovely opportunity to check in, notice your breath, and practice mindfulness on the move. 

Ready to get on your mat and try it now? Head over to my YouTube channel for free yoga videos and tutorials now.

Let Your Breath (Really) Guide You

I looooove a good vinyasa flow yoga class. Ironically, though, sometimes the breathing cues teachers give during sequences like Sun Salutations, which are meant to help you align your movements to your breath, can actually be a hindrance. 

Students want to follow their teacher. That’s why you’re there, right?

So instead of using your breath to set the pace for the movement, you try to make your breath match your movements. This is why I’m such an advocate for setting up a simple vinyasa–straighten the leg, bend the leg–and then giving students time to tune into their breath and set their own pace.

See also How to Use Yoga Breathing to Ease Stress

Which brings me to…

Ignore Your Teacher

Even though I try to give breaks throughout every yoga class where there’s a chance to shift the focus inward to give students a chance to pay attention to how they’re feeling and what their bodies are craving, I’m not perfect. 

If your teacher talks incessantly (Guilty!)–that might mean you occasionally need to tune her out and listen to your body instead.

 It’s not rude. (Well, OK, it might be just a teeeeensy bit rude. But if you do this in my class, I’ll  forgive you!)

That’s the whole point of this practice.