So it seems like I kinda suck at this whole blogging thing. Which I guess is an improved perspective over I suck at the whole yoga thing. My apologies for the continually expanding gaps between entries. Before I seemed to feel like the two were completely intertwined and if I didn't blog I wasn't doing the practice very well. LIES!
After coming to the realization that practice every day was an unrealistic perspective it's like the whole thing took on a new momentum all together. And, perhaps ironically, now I'm much closer to practicing every day than when I was trying to make it a requirement. Curious... :\
The thing I've found most surprising in the first 6 months of this endeavor is how much my perspective on yoga has changed. At the get-go I was the steadfast Ashtangi looking for an epic, sweaty, full of jumbacks practice. And yes I balanced it with a consistent Yin practice, but honestly Yin is the most intense of the calm styles (if that makes any sense).
Lately I've found a loving place in my heart for a slower, more restorative sorta practice. I'll usually start with some Yin poses, but by the end it's all really chill. I think I would live in Viparita Karani if it were safe to do so. Haha!
What's most surprising to me is how beneficial just a half hour to an hour of simple poses, without any striving or intensity can really have a profound effect on my day. I sleep better and seem to reap most of the benefits of a stronger practice. I think that it's because of this new perspective that I'm falling back into a very consistent rhythm with yoga and meditation as well. (fear not Ashtanga/Vinyasa friends, I'm also still doing that practice.)
From the beginning the whole idea of this blog was a little too striving if you ask me. And if you know Heather and I maybe it wasn't a good idea to encourage our tendencies towards perfectionism. But even if I "failed" at the original goal I still feel like I've learned so much. This whole process is just as (if not more) transformative than I ever thought, even though it hasn't looked quite like what I imagined.
So most of you probably know it's the new year. The time when people love to make promises to themselves that they can't keep (kinda like this blog :p). This year I'm not doing that, at least not in the traditional sense. All I'm trying to do is the best I can and let the rest fall in place. No specific goals. No promises or commitments. Just do my practice and all will be coming.
Namaste friends!
Showing posts with label Ashstanga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashstanga. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Rob - Days 24-32: THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH TIME!
Hello friends, yogis and countryfolk. I've missed you guys and feel bad that I have been so absent, especially with how much has been going on in my practice!
I've really just been quite swamped with my work and teacher training. I learned a lesson last week about poor scheduling and admittedly my practice fell off for a couple days. I've compensated my count accordingly.
Oh yeah, it's been over a month either way! Amazing. And honestly it's working. I feel my yoga on a much deeper level than a little over 30 days ago. Of course I must attribute most of that to my training.
The YogaWorks method is such a departure from my typical Ashtanga practice that it's really shown me a completely different side of what the practice can be. There's an intense focus on alignment and most holds are upwards of 30 seconds. This coupled with a bit of vinyasa leads to a really intense practice. Oh yeah. And Natasha has us going for about 2 1/2 hours each time!
The days after I've been super tired, but once I recover I've been noticing new openings in my body. On top of this I have such a deeper awareness of alignment has completely changed my approach. I've done my regular Mysore practice a few times and felt in to my skeletal alignment in a new way. Basically what I've realized is that here to the majority of my focus was on "forcing" my tighter regions to open using mainly muscles, and the wrong ones at that. By aligning my bones neatly and engaging the correct muscles I've been able to come far deeper into many poses while simultaneously using less energy and having more focus on my breath! Hooray!
The single most beneficial teaching I've found is a proper Tadasana in ALL of my poses. By engaging my quads, lifting my arches, and in some cases aligning my pelvis properly I've found that I'm much more stable and can fold much deeper. This is surprisingly effective in the many forward folds in primary. To my amazement by engaging a proper Tadasana in the straight leg I'm able to straighten it nearly completely and fold almost completely flat. So it appears the much of my perceived hamstring curse was actually just poorly executed postures. I really mean this in a non-judgmental way. I'm so happy to be progressing based on execution and not by force!
And as if that weren't enough... I'm also finding that by proper aligning in poses I seem to be receiving much more energizing effects from them. I'm far less tired after practice and feel a deeper connection and sensitivity to the world. The awareness that I'm developing in the poses is helping my with my everyday awareness.
When I made this blog the Sanskrit words on the top that I chose are the second Yoga Sutra - "Yoga Citta Vritti Nirodhah". Roughly translated (and we discussed this in training as well) this means that Yoga enables one to still the mind and achieve an even focus (HA - that's the Rob Phillips version at least). I'm really starting to see how a physical practice of Asana can be so catalytic towards a spiritual and mindness practice.
Wow, that's a lot for one post.
And think, I'm only just over a month in. Where will I be in 11 more.....? :)
I've really just been quite swamped with my work and teacher training. I learned a lesson last week about poor scheduling and admittedly my practice fell off for a couple days. I've compensated my count accordingly.
Oh yeah, it's been over a month either way! Amazing. And honestly it's working. I feel my yoga on a much deeper level than a little over 30 days ago. Of course I must attribute most of that to my training.
The YogaWorks method is such a departure from my typical Ashtanga practice that it's really shown me a completely different side of what the practice can be. There's an intense focus on alignment and most holds are upwards of 30 seconds. This coupled with a bit of vinyasa leads to a really intense practice. Oh yeah. And Natasha has us going for about 2 1/2 hours each time!
The days after I've been super tired, but once I recover I've been noticing new openings in my body. On top of this I have such a deeper awareness of alignment has completely changed my approach. I've done my regular Mysore practice a few times and felt in to my skeletal alignment in a new way. Basically what I've realized is that here to the majority of my focus was on "forcing" my tighter regions to open using mainly muscles, and the wrong ones at that. By aligning my bones neatly and engaging the correct muscles I've been able to come far deeper into many poses while simultaneously using less energy and having more focus on my breath! Hooray!
The single most beneficial teaching I've found is a proper Tadasana in ALL of my poses. By engaging my quads, lifting my arches, and in some cases aligning my pelvis properly I've found that I'm much more stable and can fold much deeper. This is surprisingly effective in the many forward folds in primary. To my amazement by engaging a proper Tadasana in the straight leg I'm able to straighten it nearly completely and fold almost completely flat. So it appears the much of my perceived hamstring curse was actually just poorly executed postures. I really mean this in a non-judgmental way. I'm so happy to be progressing based on execution and not by force!
And as if that weren't enough... I'm also finding that by proper aligning in poses I seem to be receiving much more energizing effects from them. I'm far less tired after practice and feel a deeper connection and sensitivity to the world. The awareness that I'm developing in the poses is helping my with my everyday awareness.
When I made this blog the Sanskrit words on the top that I chose are the second Yoga Sutra - "Yoga Citta Vritti Nirodhah". Roughly translated (and we discussed this in training as well) this means that Yoga enables one to still the mind and achieve an even focus (HA - that's the Rob Phillips version at least). I'm really starting to see how a physical practice of Asana can be so catalytic towards a spiritual and mindness practice.
Wow, that's a lot for one post.
And think, I'm only just over a month in. Where will I be in 11 more.....? :)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Heather - Day Three
Last night was a late night, so when my alarm went off at 5:30am for Mysore, I felt sick - literally. I knew I needed to stay in bed. So I got up around eight and got a ton of stuff done this morning online. I came into the yoga studio early just so I could do a yoga practice. I did a shortened Ashtanga practice - about an hour.
Let me just speak honestly here. After not having a daily Mysore practice for several months, it is HARD!!! Especially when I am a little tired, a little hungry and have a memory of how my Mysore practice USED to be! My shoulders were burning in the first few down dogs, my hamstrings and hips are relatively tight (relative to what I am used to). And my mind is not as focused. I heard many inner voices saying, "Ugh," "I don't wanna...," "This sucks," "You suck," "I hate this," and the sneakier, "Just do four suns instead of five this time," "Skip this pose this time, you'll do it next time," But I did not react to my thoughts. I listened and responded. I reminded myself that the later regret I would have would not be worth the temporary physical relief I would have not doing that fifth sun salutation. And I tried to listen, to really hear what those voices had to say. Instead of just ignoring them or pushing them deeper down inside me, I tried to reside alongside with them. If yoga and meditation has taught me anything in the last couple of years - it is definitely that I have no control over the thoughts and feelings coming in and out of my head and that if I push them away or hide from them they are more likely to come up in a bigger, louder way, and at a less convenient time than if I just say OK and allow them to say what they have to say.
And now, I am cooling off from my sweaty good time. I am working the front desk at my yoga studio and I feel more at peace knowing that I didn't win or lose a battle today, but I averted it altogether simply by acting on the knowledge that my thoughts don't have to define my actions.
Wishing you happIness and metta from a little dot in the universe called Boston,
Heather
Let me just speak honestly here. After not having a daily Mysore practice for several months, it is HARD!!! Especially when I am a little tired, a little hungry and have a memory of how my Mysore practice USED to be! My shoulders were burning in the first few down dogs, my hamstrings and hips are relatively tight (relative to what I am used to). And my mind is not as focused. I heard many inner voices saying, "Ugh," "I don't wanna...," "This sucks," "You suck," "I hate this," and the sneakier, "Just do four suns instead of five this time," "Skip this pose this time, you'll do it next time," But I did not react to my thoughts. I listened and responded. I reminded myself that the later regret I would have would not be worth the temporary physical relief I would have not doing that fifth sun salutation. And I tried to listen, to really hear what those voices had to say. Instead of just ignoring them or pushing them deeper down inside me, I tried to reside alongside with them. If yoga and meditation has taught me anything in the last couple of years - it is definitely that I have no control over the thoughts and feelings coming in and out of my head and that if I push them away or hide from them they are more likely to come up in a bigger, louder way, and at a less convenient time than if I just say OK and allow them to say what they have to say.
And now, I am cooling off from my sweaty good time. I am working the front desk at my yoga studio and I feel more at peace knowing that I didn't win or lose a battle today, but I averted it altogether simply by acting on the knowledge that my thoughts don't have to define my actions.
Wishing you happIness and metta from a little dot in the universe called Boston,
Heather
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