well, i don't know about you, but as much as i love yoga and continue to be inspired by it, i never think i am my only teacher. that's right, i still go to classes, and all the time, too! I find it insightful, inspiring, great perspective, and a chance to just practice with others. chanting, too. I love that so much. In India we all practice together, as a community. A great way to release, have fun...not have it be all instruction. Just experience a flow other than your own, someone else's rhythm. It's nice. I have begun to make myself do that in the last year when I started teaching; I wanted other perspectives.
Well, my current fabulous teacher, Michelle, went and studied with a shaman in Peru these last few weeks (what an inspiration), so I find I am going to my closest big neighborhood yoga studio, an ashtanga studio in white river junction. Okay...so I am not the greatest fan of ashtanga, but I will say it was my first language of yoga...how I learned my building blocks. I was attracted to the challenge, the language of sanskit, and how strong I became...it was the intro to yoga for me.
Later, as I learned more about myself, I learned other styles are necessary for healing, and for different times of your life...well, at least for me. I like to keep it varied. I haven't done a decent ashtanga challenge like that in some time, not since my stint of living in Ann Arbor, but I've always enjoyed it. So I go and take the primary series as a little valentine's day gift for myself. Lots of forward bends and twists and binds, more so than in my personal practice. So it's nice to get that. Working on some cool arm balances are always fun, and I can be too much of a yoga wuss to try them at home some times. I dig strength the most about my body, and my endurance, so ashtanga appeals to that. Wonderful. Been great food for thought on my mat recently.
AND the teacher, susan, has just gotten back from chilling in hawaii for a month and practicing primary 2 times a day. she's teaching poses I never knew existed in primary, and 4 different stages of it.
I had to feel bad when I went this past monday when she told me she didn't have any students last week, and then this week it was just me. while it was lovely having a personal session, i had to ask myself why she didn't have anybody. Is it because of vacation, or is it because people think it's too hard, like what she thought?
I mean, why? Are we afraid to push ourselves so much so in our practices? I mean, I am all about going easy on myself--hence why i don't frequent ashtanga daily or anything, but I can commit to a once a week class. and i really didn't want that class to heave ho just yet...I thought it served the public somehow. like those who could commit to a challenge at least once a month would have that class to go to. I guess i overestimate most. but i just wanted to send a little shout out there. hey everybody, something's waiting that's in danger of being lost that you feel you should do, so just do it. and now.
well, enough of my shoulds...the real reason i am posting today is that I gained a bit of insight into my personal realm of balance, as well. the poses I had the most difficulty with were not inversions, arm balances, no, not the hard stuff....(well, again, don't get me wrong...it was challenging) but balancing. Holy cow. Rule number one of a good practice, and I have some serious trouble with it.
Balance is what I politically and financially ground my philosophies in; yet I cannot do it within my own body. It's something I gloss over on my way to looking rad in suspended lotus. who am i kidding... but as a building block, so instrumental. and i hold my five breaths and move on..sheesh. amazing how that was difficult for me, so I have been resolving to do more in practice. it has a profound effect on mental, breathing, you name it...holding steady, holding your center... what results, and fast, too! it begins with a strong foundation with a link to the entire core, it's lovely. releases the neck, focuses the gaze...big reminder to relax jaw and shoulders, too...really bringing your awareness to the core and your center to hold your chest up. if you want to go into doshas, it's a (ha) balancing regime. It works for me due to my fiery yet earthy nature....as fire can burn brightly on the earth or in the air, it has more control and more power if it's burned on the earth; not the volatility of air to lose control of that flame. so stable foundation and strong core sounds about right. Vrksasana (tree), garudasana (eagle). Know it, live it, work it.
so...bring balance to your lives, don't try to perfect them. have fun and be focused. be calm and assertive. the value we bring to it definitely has a step with how we live our lives, so focus on that.
how else can you balance your life, if not on the mat? by creating, feeding your head with great books, by listening to music, by loving on nature? think about that.
hari om tat sat
Well, my current fabulous teacher, Michelle, went and studied with a shaman in Peru these last few weeks (what an inspiration), so I find I am going to my closest big neighborhood yoga studio, an ashtanga studio in white river junction. Okay...so I am not the greatest fan of ashtanga, but I will say it was my first language of yoga...how I learned my building blocks. I was attracted to the challenge, the language of sanskit, and how strong I became...it was the intro to yoga for me.
Later, as I learned more about myself, I learned other styles are necessary for healing, and for different times of your life...well, at least for me. I like to keep it varied. I haven't done a decent ashtanga challenge like that in some time, not since my stint of living in Ann Arbor, but I've always enjoyed it. So I go and take the primary series as a little valentine's day gift for myself. Lots of forward bends and twists and binds, more so than in my personal practice. So it's nice to get that. Working on some cool arm balances are always fun, and I can be too much of a yoga wuss to try them at home some times. I dig strength the most about my body, and my endurance, so ashtanga appeals to that. Wonderful. Been great food for thought on my mat recently.
AND the teacher, susan, has just gotten back from chilling in hawaii for a month and practicing primary 2 times a day. she's teaching poses I never knew existed in primary, and 4 different stages of it.
I had to feel bad when I went this past monday when she told me she didn't have any students last week, and then this week it was just me. while it was lovely having a personal session, i had to ask myself why she didn't have anybody. Is it because of vacation, or is it because people think it's too hard, like what she thought?
I mean, why? Are we afraid to push ourselves so much so in our practices? I mean, I am all about going easy on myself--hence why i don't frequent ashtanga daily or anything, but I can commit to a once a week class. and i really didn't want that class to heave ho just yet...I thought it served the public somehow. like those who could commit to a challenge at least once a month would have that class to go to. I guess i overestimate most. but i just wanted to send a little shout out there. hey everybody, something's waiting that's in danger of being lost that you feel you should do, so just do it. and now.
well, enough of my shoulds...the real reason i am posting today is that I gained a bit of insight into my personal realm of balance, as well. the poses I had the most difficulty with were not inversions, arm balances, no, not the hard stuff....(well, again, don't get me wrong...it was challenging) but balancing. Holy cow. Rule number one of a good practice, and I have some serious trouble with it.
Balance is what I politically and financially ground my philosophies in; yet I cannot do it within my own body. It's something I gloss over on my way to looking rad in suspended lotus. who am i kidding... but as a building block, so instrumental. and i hold my five breaths and move on..sheesh. amazing how that was difficult for me, so I have been resolving to do more in practice. it has a profound effect on mental, breathing, you name it...holding steady, holding your center... what results, and fast, too! it begins with a strong foundation with a link to the entire core, it's lovely. releases the neck, focuses the gaze...big reminder to relax jaw and shoulders, too...really bringing your awareness to the core and your center to hold your chest up. if you want to go into doshas, it's a (ha) balancing regime. It works for me due to my fiery yet earthy nature....as fire can burn brightly on the earth or in the air, it has more control and more power if it's burned on the earth; not the volatility of air to lose control of that flame. so stable foundation and strong core sounds about right. Vrksasana (tree), garudasana (eagle). Know it, live it, work it.
so...bring balance to your lives, don't try to perfect them. have fun and be focused. be calm and assertive. the value we bring to it definitely has a step with how we live our lives, so focus on that.
how else can you balance your life, if not on the mat? by creating, feeding your head with great books, by listening to music, by loving on nature? think about that.
hari om tat sat
