It's great to be led through your movement practice by a teacher, especially a teacher you really resonate with. However, there are times when you aren't able to get to a class and this is where you do well to be able to lead yourself.
Like anything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Being led and doing your own practice both have their place. Being solely reliant on another person to bring you your practice isn't the healthiest way to keep a good movement practice going in your life. However, if you only practice on your own you my become stagnant in your practice, or develop a lopsided practice that accentuates the parts that you like and dismisses the parts that you don't like. Or worst of all, become complacent and not practice at all!
As a teacher of movement I love to hold space for a class and see people face-to-face. There's a special magic that happens when people come together, which we feel both consciously and subconsciously and that keeps us all coming back to a great class time and time again.
I am also all for self-practice and I believe none of us need be experts in order to move our bodies every day. In fact, I believe that a good practice that is led by a teacher will be magnified by the student who goes home and practices for themselves.
With those thoughts stated, I will finish this article with a few idea points on the benefits of both a teacher led, class practice and self-practice.
Benefits of a teacher led class:
You can let go and be in the flow of the practice
Extend or challenge you in areas you might not on your own
Inspiration and new ideas
Tuition and guidance
Other people's energy
Benefits of your own practice:
You can work at your own pace
Space to enquire more deeply into your practice without time constraints
More repetition of your practice between classes
Creating self-reliance
You can practice it anywhere, all you need is you!