How many Practice Buddies should you have

More than one practice can be good or bad.

Alice got a call while she was at work.  Her yoga practice buddy Carol called to let her know that something had come up and that she would not be able to pick up her and Bob and get to yoga class tonight.

Alice said that it was too bad that she was going to miss the class tonight.  She told Carol that she would pick Bob up instead.  Bob is the other practice buddy in their group.

Alice is unusual in that she has two practice buddies.  Most people have only one practice buddy. There are many benefits to having more than one practice buddy and there are a few drawbacks as well.

Let’s have a look at what a practice buddy is first and then we will have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of having more than one practice buddy.

What is a Practice Buddy

A Practice Buddy is someone that you have made arrangements with to practice yoga together on a regular basis.

Why you should have a Practice Buddy

There are many benefits to having a Practice Buddy including:

• You make sure that each other goes to yoga practice
• You help to keep each other motivated
• Between the two of you, you can learn a lot more by sharing your collective knowledge
• You talk to each other after class to clarify any confusion about how to do a particular pose

As you can see having a practice buddy will really help you and your yoga practice to improve quickly.

Is it better to have many practice buddies or should you only have one.

Benefits of one practice buddy

Higher commitment

If you have only one practice buddy you are going to rely more on each other.  There is no one to take your place at yoga practice tonight when something comes up.  You are more likely to try harder to clear up any road block and make it to class if you are the only practice buddy.

Stronger relationship

If Alice has only one practice buddy they will develop a much closer relationship than if there were two or three other practice buddies in the group.

These are some strong reasons to have a single practice buddy, but there are some drawbacks as well.

Drawbacks of one practice buddy

Cancellation

if your practice buddy is unable to go to class tonight, then you may decide to stay home rather than go alone.

Break up

If your practice buddy is no longer available then you are on your own while you search for another practice buddy.

It seems like there are some good points and some bad points to having one practice buddy.  Will it be any better if you have more than one practice buddy?

Benefits of more than one practice buddy

Cancellations

If something comes up for one of the buddies in the group, they know that they will not be leaving their buddy alone.  Their is the other buddy to keep the group going.

Scheduling

Your practice schedules may not completely mesh. When there is more than one practice buddy in the group you have more scheduling possibilities.  Monday Alice and Bob are practicing, Wednesday it is Alice and Carol and on Friday nights it is everybody.  Without the third practice buddy, Alice would be alone one night during the week.

These are some good reasons to have more than one practice buddy, but there has got to be some problems with having three or more.

Drawbacks of multiple practice buddies

Less commitment

You may be less committed to the group than if you are the only one in the group.  When something comes up that will prevent you from going to yoga class you may try less hard to get around the roadblock because you are not the only practice buddy in the group.  You can let the yoga drop.

This is both good and bad.  It is good that there is still a practice buddy available when you are not.  It takes some of the pressure off of you.  It is bad because now you are missing a yoga class. If you were the only practice buddy you would try harder to get around the roadblock and make it to class with your buddy.

Relationships

It is tough enough to find one practice buddy let alone two or three.  You need to find a group of people whose personalities will mesh together well.  Will one of you feel like a third wheel on a bicycle.

Scheduling

It is tough enough to come up with a practice schedule when there is just two of you.  Now when you add more people to the mix the scheduling will get even more complex.

Summary

Alice, Bob and Carol were able to form a practice buddy group that seems to be working well.  They are all equally committed to the group.  Their personalities have meshed together well  and one night a week when Carol can not make it to practice Bob is there to keep the group in place.

Should you have one practice buddy or many.  It depends on you and your situation.  The best situation is to have one practice buddy but there will be circumstances where having another practice buddy will be a benefit.

You need to decide.

You will get your best results if you have one practice buddy.  There are going to be situations where having a second practice buddy will help to keep you in the groove and in your yoga class more consistently.

Schedule conflicts and life events are the most common problems that practice buddies run in to.  When you have more than one practice buddy you will be able to get around these events.

Next Step

First find one practice buddy. Once the two of you have been practicing together for a while you can discuss if you should add a third person to the group.