Use the Learning zone to move your yoga practice forward.
Bob did not realize it but his teacher was watching him. Bob was doing the modification of the Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana (one leg in half lotus forward fold) that the teacher had given him a few weeks ago pretty well lately. Until recently it had been a real struggle to complete even this modification. Now it was becoming a real treat to work on this pose.
Bob’s teacher recognized that Bob has slipped out of the learning zone and into the comfort zone with this particular posture and that it was time for him to move back into the learning zone. Bob’s teacher is about to change the modification that he is doing in this particular pose.
Bob’s body has become flexible enough that is now time for him to move on to the full version of the pose. Bob’s teacher knew that if Bob had tried the full version weeks ago he would have been in the Panic zone of learning and no progress would have been made. However now he was in the Comfort zone and it is time to move him back into the Learning zone so he can continue to improve his practice and get even more benefits from his yoga practice.
What are these zones of learning?
There are three zones of learning and they are based on how challenging you make your yoga practice. The three zones are:
- Comfort,
- Learning and
- Panic
The names of the zones give you a pretty clear idea about their nature. Relaxed, challenging and frightening. Let’s have a look at the Comfort zone and why you want to avoid it.
Comfort zone
In the comfort zone as the name implies you are relaxed and you are practicing yoga with ease. There is no attempt to improve your practice in this zone. You are out to have a good time.
You can not make much progress in the comfort zone because those are activities you can already do easily. In the comfort zone you are maintaining the status quo while in the next zone you are working on moving ahead.
Bob is doing the modification of Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana with ease now. He is actually enjoying it, but there is no progress being made anymore. It is time to move back to the Learning zone.
Learning zone
Most of the improvement and growth happens in the Learning zone. In the Learning zone new skills and abilities are developed. These are skills and abilities that are just out of reach.
It is in this zone that most of the growth in your yoga practice will happen. You are refining techniques and abilities that you have just learned.
The Learning zone is where you want your yoga practice to be, however it is possible for you to take on too big of a challenge and then you move into the next zone.
Bob’s teacher is giving Bob the full version of the pose to work on now. His teacher recognizes that Bob is ready for this version. Now is the time to attempt it. Earlier if Bob had attempted this pose he would have found it very difficult, so difficult that he would have been more worried about injuring himself than how to do the pose.
Panic zone
The activities in the panic zone are too hard. You can not figure out how to approach them and learn them. It is too soon to move on these tasks.
As the name applies panic sets in when you attempt to do a yoga pose that is significantly beyond your current abilities. You become fearful and concerned that you might injure yourself. Activities in this zone are so hard that you don’t even know how to approach them.
No learning is going to happen in this zone.
Of the three zones, Comfort, Learning and Panic, the Learning zone is the place where the most learning and growth in our abilities happens.
Attempting to keep our yoga practice in the Learning zone is a challenging because it is never in the same place.
Is the learning zone always the same?
Bob’s teacher saw that the Learning zone had moved on when he saw how easily Bob was doing the pose. Previously the full version of the pose was in the Panic zone, it was too difficult for Bob. Now that the modification of the pose has moved to the comfort zone, it is time to move the full version of the pose into Learning zone and get Bob working on it.
The problem with the Learning zone is that it is constantly changing and moving. Once you have learned a new technique and can do it well that technique moves into the comfort zone and it is time for you to move on and find another challenge to work on.
Identifying the Learning zone is difficult and then forcing yourself to stay continually in it as it changes is even harder. You need to be careful to not move too far beyond your current abilities.
When you move too far out of the Learning zone you end up in the Panic zone. The opposite happens as well when you continue to practice a technique that you are now doing well you have moved into the Comfort zone.
Over time as you work on activities in the Learning zone and improve your abilities then some of the activities in the Panic zone will move into the Learning zone and you can start to work on them.
You need to continually change your yoga practice to keep it in the Learning zone. You need help to do this.
How to stay in the Learning zone
Since the Learning zone is constantly moving and changing over time you need to work with an experienced yoga teacher to keep your practice in the Learning zone.
Your yoga teacher has extensive knowledge about yoga and how to teach it. They can see which techniques have been mastered and have moved into the Comfort zone and which need to be developed next. Your yoga teacher can design your yoga practice to work on that next skill.
Your teacher will know which skill or technique has moved from the Panic zone into the Learning zone and will design your practice to include the learning of this new skill or technique.
Bob’s teacher recognized that Bob has moved into the Comfort zone and changed his practice activities to bring him back into the Learning zone.
Summary
You can do your yoga practice today and you will have the benefit that you will feel better afterwards, however if you want to improve the quality of your practice even further you need to add an additional element to your practice. You need to move your practice into the Learning zone, out of the Comfort zone and stay away from the Panic zone.
Next Steps
You need to work with your yoga teacher to develop a yoga practice that is in the Learning zone.
The learning zone is always changing and moving over time that is why you need an experienced yoga teacher to help you design a yoga practice that will keep you out of the Comfort zone and away from the Panic zone.
