How should we practice? Well, I'm glad you asked :-)

I think that it is wise to separate practice into two fields at least. 

*A practice that is mainly mindful aimed at developing an increased sense of mind/body 

connection. 

*And a practice that is physical and aimed at strengthening and investigating muscular work. 

In my experience in spite of the current hype about modern postural yoga (mpy) being the potential cure for all ails, we need to be careful with making yogapractice our only physical practice. 
The problem with letting mpy take the place of other physical ... let's call it excercise, is that when we get addicted to a result, we tend to lose the openminded inquiry into the nature of our experience and sacrifice it (unknowingly) for the goal, we have set up for ourselves. 

We also tend to forget that as soon as we have a form, we set up a culture around that form, we cultivate it, and although there is nothing wrong as such in that, when we don't recognize that we are part of a culture and busy cultivating it we tend to think that we are more openminded than we actually are. The form becomes a truth. 

And as soon as a truth is established, the openended inquiry tends to fade into obscurity. There are other reasons that this is problematic, that are too big and complicated for me to dive into here. But I recommend reading Alan Moermans: The Meaning Effect" and you will get a take on culture and healing. 

So even with a physical practice based in ethic principals like ahimsa (non violence) or satya (honesty) or santosha (contentment), which in my experience mpy rarely is, we tend to be blinded to the way, that we are not honest to the signals of our bodies, that we subtly violate our bodyexperience, and that culturally we come from a place of discontent with what is. 
Discontent with our bodies (too fat, too stiff, too old, not open enough in the hips, shoulders, you name it...not good enough in other words). This is the culture we come from, that we are raised in, and if we are not careful we tend to bring into the yogapractice.

This is not our fault! If the practice tells us, that we are here and we should get to there, then that is what the practice becomes... a goal oriented striving to escape our current conditions. 
The teacher becomes the authority that tells us, how to get there. And we would all love to get a key in the hand that promises us to end our troubles and our suffering. 
If it was just that simple. 

So back to how to practice: 

1. Do something mindful every day. 
Incorporate it into your daily life and no holidays(especially in the start, where you are creating a new habit, and that means the first 10 years! just kidding, but there is some truth in it). That means, that to build a discipline, where mindfulness becomes more than an exotic spice you add to your already full schedule or as a frantic tool for escape when life falls apart, you need to cultivate steadfastness of practice. Like brushing teeth. Every every day to have a date with yourself in stillness.  

This might be a meditation-practice, which I highly recommend. Start meditating every day - to start out with commit to something that you find doable, like 10 minutes then gradually you can increase the time you sit. 

The important part is not how long you sit in the start, but that you commit to it. :-) 

And/Or it could be a 10 minute lying down awareness practice like savarsana ...

and/or it could be a soft moving practice, that doesn't take you anywhere, doesn't improve flexibility (even though of course just moving improves flexibility), doesn't strengthen your muscles, but just brings you in touch with Body/Breath/Mind-connection. 

Qi gong or a more gentle form of hatha yoga would do the trick nicely.

2. Then choose one or two physical practices that you like, It could be running or swimming or cycling for heart and stamina and then yoga for increased sense of stability, balance, strength and flexibility. If you would like to get help in creating a healthy practice routine, you are welcome to contact me. Although I surely don't have all the answers, I have many years of experience and an honest approach. No bullshit.

3. Consider ethics as a way of softening and ultimately discontinuing our habits of craving and addiction on the one hand and aversion and aggression on the other.  

3a. Patience 

When we build a practice or when we build anything, learn anything in our lives, it is of enormous importance to be patient. 

Things take time. The body takes time. Relationship takes time. Life takes time. 

We live in such an impatient culture. LIke a commercial I saw said "you are just a click away..." And if that is the attitude, that we can get anything with a click, the body can be a frustrating experience. If you find yourself getting impatient with your progress, slow down and explore the stories that surface around the practice. Are you trying to measure up against an outer goal, do you think, that your life will get easier if just ...? 

Just be willing to explore. After all, where are we going? 

3b. Kindness (ahimsa)
You're in a relationship. You don't own your body, you are it. You belong to it, so to speak. Treat it as a friend and don't push and shove and badmouth yourself, if you don't live up to your (too high) expectations. See 3a.
Bodies are living environments, that react to hostility as well as to friendship. Bodies are not things. 
Cultivate unconditional friendliness. And when the body breaks down, falls apart, when there are rough times, which are unavoidable in life, explore your experience. What is there to learn from this? 

Then of course, there is sickness, old age and death, which none of us can escape. 

Reflect on that too. 

There are some really interesting discussions going on right now in Canada and the States, that I would recommend, around yoga and injury. What are we doing in asana-practice? 

For more and that see http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/category/blog/