I have noticed that oftentimes when people hear the word practice, images of struggle, suffering, pain and toil often come to mind.
The word “practice” has been assigned a negative connotation for many when it simply means to carry out an action or activity or to apply understanding repeatedly or habitually in order to build proficiency, skill, comfort, and/or ease and mastery. There is nothing about the practice of anything, particularly Yoga or any other mind, body, and spiritual science that indicates that suffering has to be involved.
Life itself will provide you with all of the sufferings that you need for learning and growth. The practice of any consciously engaged-in activity, quality, skill, and so forth allows you to deliberately become more capable and selective about how you deal with your suffering and struggles, and overcome them, in your own empowered way through engaging in purposefully selected experiences that you need for your development and advancement.
What you need to practice in Yoga (Eight Limbs) has been generally outlined, as these skills and experiences are required in order to instill certain understandings and awarenesses within you that will allow you to advance to higher states of consciousness, being, and living, but how you practice is entirely up to you, and how much you practice, and how well you practice, are also within your consideration.