Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about practice versus performance.
It’s a quiet shift, but it changes everything.
Performance is when we do yoga to look or feel a certain way. When it’s about hitting the pose, clocking a class, burning off stress, collecting knowledge, or saying we’ve “done our bit.” It’s the version of yoga that fits neatly into a schedule and looks good on Instagram.
Practice, though — real practice — is different.
Practice is private. Quiet. Sometimes messy. It’s when you show up even when no one’s watching. When you repeat the same sequence, the same breath, the same mantra — not to perfect it, but to let it perfect you.
Practice changes you from the inside out. Performance just polishes the outside.
And this difference — between practice and performance — is at the heart of what I’m feeling lately as Yoga Local evolves.
A Shift That’s Stirring Things Up
Since moving towards a more hybrid, membership-based model, I’ve noticed the pushback.
The “I’m doing my best” conversations.
The “I’ll show up when I can” rhythm.
The “I’ve already got yoga in my gym membership” replies.
And I get it. Life’s full. Energy’s low. We are all doing our best.
But here’s what yoga helps us see: our “best” isn’t fixed. It expands with awareness.
As consciousness rises, so does capacity. What once felt impossible starts to feel normal.
So when I talk about moving beyond the old “pay-per-class, drop-in-when-I-can” rhythm, it’s not because I think anyone’s slacking off. It’s because I know — from experience — that your best grows when you give it structure. When you build rhythm, ritual, and repetition around it.
That’s the power of practice. It takes your current best and quietly stretches it, breath by breath, until one day you realise you’re showing up in ways the old you would’ve written off as impossible.
Knowing Isn’t Doing
I’ve got friends who think they “get” yoga because they once did a retreat, or a couple of classes, or a breathwork session that blew their mind. Maybe they’ve read a book or two, and that’s great — but that’s not the same as having a practice.
You don’t learn yoga by visiting it once or twice like a tourist. You learn it by living with it — day in, day out, breath after breath.
It’s like thinking you know how to swim because you’ve read a book about swimming. You’ve got the idea, sure — but until you’re in the water, you’ve got no feel for the current.
That’s the thing. Knowing how a practice works isn’t the same as embodying it. Reading about breath work doesn’t calm your nervous system. Understanding grounding doesn’t ground you.
That only happens through doing — through the repetition, the returning, the days you can’t be arsed but do it anyway.
That’s why our latest Micro Practice inside the APP — Prana Dharana and Spinal Kriya — is the same practice as last week. It’s not because I’ve run out of ideas. It’s because repetition is what makes it work. Each time you do it, it reveals something new. The energy refines. The awareness deepens.
You don’t master it by doing it once. You embody it by doing it again. And again.
The Illusion of Value
We’ve been trained to confuse quantity with value.
“More classes! More choice! All included in your gym membership!”
But let’s be honest — are we really getting more value, or just more noise?
I saw something online recently that really landed.
A guy was hired to do a job. He did it perfectly — in two days. Because of his experience and skill, he was fast.
But his client complained: “Why should I pay that much? It didn’t take you long!”
His reply? “You’re not paying for my time. You’re paying for my skill, my experience, and the years it took to do it in two days.”
That’s yoga, too. You’re not paying for minutes on a mat. You’re investing in depth. In guidance. In lineage. In having someone hold you accountable when your lower mind says, “CBA.”
So yes — you could do “unlimited yoga” for £20 a month at your local gym. You could jump from class to class and tick the “I’ve done yoga” box. But is it changing you? Is it challenging you? Is it transforming you?
The Real Value
What I want for this community — what I’ve built here — isn’t about volume. It’s about integration.
The structure, the rhythm, the repetition — it’s not random. It’s designed to help you live the teachings, not just learn about them.
That’s why we do what we do inside the Yoga Local Membership.
- The Sadhana practices give you a 40-day framework to build consistency and accountability.
- The App community keeps you connected — to me, to the teachings, and to others walking the same path.
- The Digital Vault gives you access to replays, workshops, and philosophy drops so you can study in your own time.
- The Live and online classes give rhythm to your week — a balance of Sun, Moon, Fire, Yin, and Micro Practice — so you stay steady even when life’s messy.
Together, these create a living system of support. A rhythm that holds you while you build self-trust, self-respect, and real transformation.
Because I don’t want to feed people yoga snacks. I want to nourish them.
And nourishment takes time. Effort. Consistency.
It’s the same as cooking. You can grab a ready meal — or you can chop the veg, stir the pot, wait for the flavours to deepen.
You tell me which one truly satisfies.
So Here’s the Question
Are you collecting yoga like ideas — or living it like practice?
Are you paying for classes — or investing in transformation?
Are you doing what feels comfortable — or letting practice quietly stretch your idea of what’s possible?
That’s the work. That’s the invitation.
And this — this community, this membership, this rhythm — is the alternative.
It’s where yoga stops being something you dip into and becomes something that carries you.
It’s where theory becomes practice, and practice becomes life.
And it’s what we’re doing here — together — every week.
Josie x
💬 What’s one thing you’ve been “knowing” but not “doing”? Drop it below — maybe it’s the one thing that could shift everything this week.
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