Tag Archives: Yoga
Do Just Sit There
Though the teacher training was only half a week this week, I decided to try to fit in everything that I will be doing in upcoming weeks, so that I can get used to the schedule. This meant doing the reading (yay reading, not-so-yay note taking), going to 3 vinyasa and 2 yin classes, going to 2 teacher training sessions, doing 1 home practice, and writing three journal entries. Some of those things I do anyway (the classes, reading, blogging). Some I haven’t in the past – or at least not regularly. Home practice has, for the past year or so, fallen into that second category more weeks than not. It’s not that I don’t like practicing at home; it’s more that I like being in class and having the energy (and direction) of others and I just run out of time to do the home practice as well. But, reasonably, it’s part of our training – since we’ll need to plan classes, we should be able to plan our own yoga practice. So, this week was time to revive my home yoga.
Image from Yoga Journal Japan
Many practices begin with Sukhasana, or easy pose. Now, I could lie and tell you that I usually look fabulous in Sukhasana, like the lovely yogi to the left. But, lying isn’t very yogic, is it? I try, but I have a slouching problem, and after a few seconds of relatively upright posture and mostly straight back, bad things start to happen and I look like a big letter C with legs (metaphor courtesy of my friend Rachel). And, if I can get my mid back in good shape, then I round my shoulders and end up looking like a candy cane. It’s quite delightful, actually.
You probably know where this is going, but tonight I did my home practice in just Sukhasana for 1/2 hour. My back is something I have been working on in yoga with my instructors’ help, and we haven’t really begun working on asana in class, so it seemed appropriate. I focused on sitting straight, breathing, and being mindful (control the chitta vritti, eh?). It wasn’t easy. In fact, I would say it was difficult, both mentally and physically. Sitting up straight in my back actually requires a pretty good amount of concentration, and core muscles. My sides are feeling a little sore at the moment. But, I know that it was worthwhile and it’s probably something I will try to work into my practice at home, even as it evolves and my focus changes to more active asanas here.
So, I would say… Do just sit there! Do something!
Namaste,
L
Learn Something New Every Day?
Wednesday morning (when I wrote this) was my first Vinyasa class after officially beginning yoga teacher training. The funny thing was, it actually felt a little bit different, but not in the way that I expected. I had wondered if I would be able to keep my attention in the moment during class, or if I would be constantly analyzing it in terms of teacher training and my own future classes. Interestingly, that wasn’t a problem and wasn’t the difference I felt. Instead, I think I felt more “in that place” than I usually do in a class.
I don’t know if this was just a happy coincidence or related to starting training, but it was an excellent class for me, and not because I was so great at things (harkening back to my previous admissions of competition/perfection). In every pose, I just felt perfectly fine and happy being in that pose. There was no wondering when it would be over or how I was doing in comparison to others. There was no self-critique. It was delightful!
So, what did I learn? Well, I’m not sure, as I don’t know if I somehow did this or it just happened randomly. But, I definitely reaffirmed for myself that, if I can really stay present in class, the experience feels so much better (in a whole being way – even if some poses are still painful for my joints) than it does when I am allowing my brain to crowd out the moment I am experiencing.
And, that’s something, right?
L