“Practice implies a certain methodology, involving effort. It has to be followed uninterruptedly for a long time, with firm resolve, application, attention and devotion, to create a stable foundation for training the mind, intelligence, ego and consciousness.”
Iyengar, B. K. S.. Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (pp. 38-39). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.
It is important to practice every day. That doesn’t mean that your practice will look like a yoga class, or that it will look the same every day. Sometimes you just have to work on a particular body part, or you may only want to do reclined poses or seated poses. Or, you may be injured or recovering from a surgery and then you practice has to be modified. But it is important to practice something every day.
I have often encouraged students to come to class even when they have something going on. (Please give me a head’s up before hand so I can prepare.) I had one student recently who said that they were not going to come to class because their back was bothering them. I encouraged them to come and I had prepared alternatives for them to relieve their back pain. By the end of class, they were feeling fine and participating in the regular poses. They were glad that they had come and not skipped practice.
I have had several students who have had knee or hip replacements and I have encouraged them to keep practicing with their upper body. If you have a joint replacement, you need at least 3 months to heal. Be patient, take that time. You really should not go back to a regular yoga class any sooner. But, if you don’t do any yoga/exercise in those three months, it will be challenging to come back. You begin to lose muscle mass and muscle tone in as little as three days.
With that in mind, if you are looking to achieve something: a level of flexibility, a pose, or just get stronger you need to work out that body part three times a week. Remember that you lose muscle mass, tone and flexibility in as little as three days. So there should not be more than three days between your practices. You may not be ready to come back to a regular yoga class, but you can do your own modified practice at home.
Be sure to listen to your doctor’s advice. But, if you have been cleared to walk, then you can either stand or sit on a chair and do Hasta Mudra (arm work). You can do seated bicep curls or overhead tricep extensions. (Start with light weights and observe how these exercises affect you before loading the weight on.) Or, you can even do things like wall push ups or counter top dips. This will help you, when you are ready to come back to class. If you do these, you will have the arm strength to do Adho Mukha Svansana (Downward Facing Dog) or Caturanga (Low Push Up).
Counter top push ups
Counter top dips
For your shoulders, it is a good idea to practice Utthita Hastasana, Parsva Hastasana and Viparita Hastasana (Hand at the wall in front of the body, hand on the wall sideways to the body and hand on the wall behind the body) so that you maintain shoulder flexibility. Watch the video, here.
Once you are cleared to go back to your normal activities, you will be in better shape to go back to your yoga practice if you keep working out your healthy body parts while you are recovering. But you may need some privates at first to learn how to modify your practice until you are back to where you were.
Let me know. I’m happy to help.