There is an easy formula for returning to practice pain free.

Whether you have just taken Saturday or a moonday off, a week, a month or a year - finding the appropriate level of intensity for your practice will ensure you avoid stiffness and pain which so often comes after a break from practice.

Sunday is often the most pleasurable day for practice. After a day off the body feels fresh and ready to stretch. Very often in our enthusiasm we over exert ourselves and the next day the body is stiff and by Tuesday it is painful. This can be avoided.

When one first comes back to practice after a break one has to start off with less intensity. If it is just one day, this means allowing the body to warm up before stretching too deeply - eg don’t push your heels down completely in downward dog for the first 2-3 rounds of sun salutations.

If you have taken a week off, you may consider only doing 50-70% of your usual practice the first day and a bit more the next, returning to full practice by day 3.

If you have taken a month or more off, the prospect of returning to practice is quite daunting. But the principle is the same - start with just sun salutations or sun salutations and standing postures the first day. Don’t try to go too deep into the asanas. Each day add a little more. If you have taken a month off, it will take at least a week to get back to full practice pain free, if you have taken a year, it will take between 3 weeks and 4 months to return to full practice.

The key is always - daily practice. A little bit every day is much more helpful than a lot once in a while.