From a student...Ok since class yesterday I have been concious of my feet and realized even when I walk or stand my arches collapse down and have to think about putting them in a better position. I think that will be huge for my
practice as far as engaging my legs and helping me be in better positions in yoga class and outside of yoga.
Thanks for having that as our focus for the day.
“Aren’t you going a little overboard with this yoga thing?” Comments such as these have been abundant this week, in addition to hints that I am becoming “obsessed” and choosing yoga over other priorities. I find myself struggling to find a compromise within myself to honor all the commitments in my life, take care of those closest to me, and take care of myself. Initially I questioned myself…”Maybe I shouldn’t practice so much” Thoughts of guilt, uncertainty and sadness ensued. At the end of all these emotions that I experienced, I had an “a ha” moment. Deep in my heart I know I would never let something come in the way of my family, but as I continue to practice yoga I realize I am finding a way to be at peace with myself and my life. Hopefully as I continue on my journey, those around me will be able to see the benefits (both physical and mental) that I already feel.
On the asana front I have added the first six poses from the Second Series after completing the Primary on my self practice days. I was a bit apprehensive to try it but after Katie mentioned that it would only add about 8 minutes to the practice, I thought I’d give it a shot. The combination of back strengtheners and back extenders (backbends) have been a great complement to my practice. I also find that I have more focus on my bandas during the second series for some reason.
I have experienced one less than positive situation this week that I’m hopeful yoga will help me through. It appears that the symptoms of my rheumatoid arthritis are beginning to rear their ugly head. I have been virtually symptom free for the past 4 years, which I attribute to hormones associated with pregnancy and nursing. When I have flared in the past I usually got pissed, felt sorry for myself and dwelled on what this disease was preventing me from doing. This time I have a different mindset. I’m going to celebrate each day that my body allows me to come to my mat. If I’m stiffer, so be it. If I have less range of motion, so be it. At least I’m still practicing. And loving every moment!
I must say that I feel my practice has already progressed. I don’t, however, know if it strictly a change in my intention, or physical development as well. Intention is such a catch phrase in much of the yoga literature that I have read. “Be in the moment” “Focus on the now”. Well yeah, I sure do feel in the moment when my thighs are burning in Virabatrasana A and B. Figuring out how to “stay in the moment” and continuously focus on breath, bandas, and alignment is where the difficulty lies. I do feel, however, that the commitment that I have made has certainly made me more aware of my intention. I come to the mat with much more presence in the current moment rather than dwelling on what I haven’t been able to do in the past and what I’ll likely not be able to do today. I also seem to be more aware of subtleties during my practice. I am improving on my ability of self-observation and the ability to translate that into adjusting my postures. Rotating this and extending that is starting to make much more sense to me. If I could just remember to breathe! It is fairly exciting to report that last night I was able to lift up off the floor (briefly) for this first time in Utplutih. And what do you know, it must not have been a fluke as I was able to do it today as well. I am starting to celebrate each of these small victories.
I have received many words of encouragement over the past week and remain touched that so many people support me on this journey. The community that has grown at City Yoga is full of many caring, encouraging and supportive people. Knowing that I have a silent cheering section beside me during my practice keeps me motivated on those early, early mornings. Many of those people have also said the same thing to me, “Don’t be surprised if you get more out of this experience than you expect”. I already feel that I have and I can’t wait to see what more is in store for me. I look forward to sharing my experience with all of you and returning the favor of support.
Trepidation. That’s what I felt when I began to contemplate the journey of 6 days a week of practice. Could I do it? And at what cost to my family? Will this affect my boys? Will it take time away from them? Immediately, thoughts of guilt set in. It’s amazing how good I am at feeling guilty since I became a mother. At the end of this internal argument I came up with the following…Yoga has taught me patience, self respect, and strength (physical and emotional). If those characteristics can make me a better mother, providing a strong example to my boys, a committed practice was worth a shot. My hope is that with a dedicated practice I will continue my journey not only in developing strength and flexibility in the asanas, but more importantly continue to celebrate my spirit, encouraging self love and self respect.
In order to commit to this challenge, I had enlist the support of my husband, kids and friends. I knew I couldn’t do it alone and I am pleased to say all have stepped up and provided me with support. Attempting to schedule practices in my week has already been difficult. My good intentions have been interrupted by LIFE. I have, however, made it to the mat 5 days this week. In addition to 2 led classes I have introduced 2 EARLY morning practices and one home practice.
How do I feel? Tired. But invigorated at the same time. I am also proud of myself. I have successfully completed my first week without taking time away from my family and without feeling (much) guilt for what I sometime perceive as selfishness. I think that is going to take a while for me to get over.
Early morning practices are different than the afternoons. I takes me longer to warm up and I find that my hamstrings and hips take longer to open up. This morning I attempted to stand up from urdhva dhanurasana and it just wasn’t going to happen. I initially felt frustration and some anger. “Why the heck is this hard today?” but then I forced myself to step back and appreciate that fact that I had made it to the mat. Be happy with that! Practicing by myself has also forced me to be self motivating and accepting to the fact I may not always have an energized practice.
One week down, many, many, many to go. Goals for this journey….lifting up and jumping back without using blocks, binding in supta kurmasana, generally improving my strength. More importantly I want to live yoga. Not only asana but incorporating the philosophy of yoga into my life. Lofty? Yes. Attainable? Hopefully.
Lindsay will be posting her practice journal over the next four months. She has been practicing at City Yoga since the early days in the Steamplant, works and has two little children. When she expressed some frustration to me about her progress in her practice which was pretty consistently 3-4 days a week, I suggested that she try for a period of time to practice six days a week, taking off moon days and the first three days of her menstrual cycle. She was up for the idea and started right at the beginning of May. Not a small task to bring add on to an already busy life, she has to fit practice some mornings, and some evening but she is making it work! Lindsay, thank you for sharing this with all of us.
We posted the article written by San Francisco Ashtanga teacher John Berlinsky last June and a lot of people really liked it so we are posting it again. Now you can also hear David Garrigues doing the opening mantra.
Ashtanga practice is traditionally begun with the recitation of the mantra. What we call the Ashtanga Mantra is really two shlokas from different sources. The first is a verse from the "Yoga Taravalli" by Sri Shankaracharya and the second verse is from a longer prayer to Patanjali.
The Ashtanga mantra has been translated a number of times with various interpretations of the individual words. Instead of looking at the mantra as a literal translation of the Sanskrit, I see the mantra as an invocation and living part of our yoga practice.
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