In the Western world, the popular styles of yoga are almost always the fast paced classes. Head into a fast flow practice or one that promises a workout and it will probably be full, but Yin, restorative and meditation classes can often be close to empty.

It's like we need to go quickly - whether it's to burn calories, to hurry, or to feel like we've accomplished something... that ever-present urge to 'do'. However, rolling with this mindset may have you missing out on an opportunity to find balance as well as skipping over some of the true values of practicing yoga.

Here are five reasons to pull back from intense yoga practices and slow things down.

1. Your nervous system needs a break

Modern life is already crazy busy. If you're on the go all the time or if you struggle to sit in stillness, these are signs your nervous system may be in fight or flight mode; this raises the heart rate, elevates blood pressure, maintains heightened levels of alertness and can have an effect on everything from hormones to emotions and even digestion. A fast paced, intense fitness class or yoga practice may have a short term benefit of endorphins, but generally it can add more stress to the nervous system.

To allow your nervous system to regulate - a.k.a. come back to rest and digest mode - you need to slow down. Practice this on your mat by focusing on slower posese performed with great technique and slow, full breath work.

2. Reduce risk of injury

Most yoga poses challenge our flexibility. When you're flowing from pose to pose quickly, it can be difficult to observe how close to the edge of our limitations we are. It's typically thought that yoga is a safe way to move your body because it's low impact, however, any form of movement comes with risk, and in yoga that risk level is heightened if you can't take the time to feel into your stretches.

3. Notice the smaller shifts and changes

Stripping away the 'showiness' of yoga - the fast-paced flow sequences and the poses that encourage us to push ourselves to our limits - can help us be more present. Practicing simplicity on your mat can help you to really pay attention to your body's capabilities, limitations, improvements, alignment and signals.

4. Slowing down can increase the challenge

Have you ever tried doing 20 squats in a row versus sustaining one single squat for 20 seconds? Each option takes a different approach but they both work the same muscles. Slowing down your practice doesn't mean you will be missing out on the challenge.

Svasana - or Corpse pose - performed during relaxation can even be a challenge for many people (although you're basically just lying down!). In fact, it's said that Svasana is the most difficult yoga pose as lying in stillness is often a bigger challenge than doing a handstand!

5. Practice giving yourself permission

If we've got a lot of stuff going on in life, it's easy to just keep pushing through. Ignoring your body's mental and physical signals to keep up with your schedule, your goals, other people... Giving yourself the permission to slow down - or even stop - is a big part of self-care. Go slowly, do less, sit in stillness, take an alternative kinder pose instead of what's on offer. Practicing this ability on your yoga mat will help foster the skill to pop into your yoga 'toolbox' when you step off your mat and out into the world.

If you've typically been drawn to faster paced yoga practices in the past, challenge yourself to slow things down and observe how you get on. For some this can bring up feelings of boredom, anger or frustration; if this happens to you, acknowledge these feelings and see if you can work through them.

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