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How to Get More Out of Your Yoga Practice
- carolefrey
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Simple foundational techniques that build strength, awareness & confidence on (and off) the mat.
Most people think yoga progress comes from achieving harder poses. In reality, it comes from better foundations. When you understand how to breathe, focus your mind, and move your body intentionally, the entire practice becomes more effective, more powerful, and more meaningful. Through this you begin to move away from just ‘doing’ yoga, and instead, embodying yoga – moving through life with more awareness, presence, strength, and confidence.
In this post, we’ll explore six foundational techniques to support you both on and off the mat so you can get more out of your practice.
The Common Challenge
When we lack understanding of the foundations in our physical practice or push too hard and too fast we:
Lose focus
Feel discouraged
Risk injury
Disconnect from the true purpose of the practice
This can make yoga feel frustrating instead of fulfilling. Reframing the practice helps: yoga isn’t about perfect shapes. It’s about the relationship you cultivate with yourself—your discipline, your breath, your body, your mind, your presence, and your effort. Every posture becomes a mirror, showing how you meet obstacles and how you choose to show up in life.
Foundational Tip #1: Know Your Body
Classical yoga teaches that steadiness and ease in a posture arise from inner and outer alignment.
When a posture is approached methodically, the body becomes light, steady, and resilient — supporting a sustainable practice and reducing risk of injury.
Listening to your body’s wisdom lets you unwind old patterns, strengthen your core, and build the foundation for breath, bandhas, and drishti.
Every posture then becomes a practice of awareness, presence, and a solid seat in life.
Foundational Tip #2: Find Your Core
Your core is your power center. Engaging it anchors the body, supports energy flow through the spine, and allows you to move with awareness and control rather than strain or momentum.
Think of your body like a house: your core is the foundation. When it’s strong, everything above—your mind, heart, and Higher Self—is supported.
Connecting to your core in practice deepens your ability to stay centered both on the mat and in life.
Foundational Tip #3: Breathe Deep & Free
Use your breath as your bridge to steadiness.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states:
"When the breath is unsteady, the mind is unsteady. When the breath is steady, the mind is steady."
By evening out your inhalation and exhalation, and allowing movement to be guided by the breath, you tap into prāṇa in a way that calms the mind, brings clarity, and anchors your practice.
Foundational Tip #4: Engage Your Bandhas
Bandhas are energetic locks that support and protect the body.
When you softly lift mula-bandha (pelvic floor) and draw the lower belly in and up (uddiyana bandha), you create a subtle energetic container. This draws prāṇa inward, supports the spine, and provides a stable core for balance and transitions.
Engaging the bandhas is skillful alignment, allowing you to move with steadiness rather than strain.
Foundational Tip #5: Direct Your Gaze
Where your gaze goes, your mind follows.
Practicing drishti—choosing a focal point in a posture—anchors your attention. This stabilizes the nervous system, reduces inner chatter, and cultivates presence.
Applied consistently, drishti transforms your practice into a training ground for both mind and life, teaching you to stay grounded, centered, and focused in every situation.
Foundational Tip #6: Stability Over Flexibility
Throughout these tips, stability has been emphasized intentionally. In yoga, stability (sthira) is the foundation of the practice.
Without steadiness in the body, the breath becomes unsteady.
Without steadiness in the breath, the mind becomes distracted.
Without steadiness in the mind, the deeper layers of yoga remain inaccessible.
Flexibility is valuable for a healthy body, but without a stable foundation, it can be unsafe or superficial. Every technique ultimately points back to stability: when you can find steadiness, you can access everything else.
Integrating the Foundations
By incorporating these six foundational practices—knowing your body, finding your core, connecting to your breath, engaging bandhas, practicing drishti, and prioritizing stability—you create a practice that is safe, sustainable, and deeply enriching.
You’ll move with more ease, connect more deeply with yourself, and bring greater presence to the world around you.
Your Invitation to Dive Deeper: Tips & Tricks Workshop
If you’d like guided support applying these techniques, join me for my upcoming workshop:
Tips & Tricks Workshop
Saturday, December 63:00–5:00 PM
Melting Point Hot Yoga, Huntersville, NC
This workshop goes beyond shapes on the mat—it’s a reminder of how capable and powerful you truly are. You’ll leave feeling grounded, empowered, and connected to your practice, with tools that support not just the way you move, but the way you live.