I thought it would be
good to update the blog with a Yoga bit -
The daily practice of
Ashtanga Mysore style is now in my system and I am reaping the benefits. Don't
get me wrong it's not all joyous rapture, there are days when I question not
just what I'm doing on the mat but in life in general, but this is kind of the
point that I want to make in this post.
The benefits of a daily
practice are not just physical, although becoming stronger and more flexible in
the body does have it's benefits on a purely aesthetic basis, especially when
you spend most of the rest of your time on the beach in a bikini! And of course
there are benefits to the body that you can't see - how it affects your internal
organs and strengthens things like the stomach, vital organs.
But the benefits of the
mental are far stronger in my opinion. I've always liked a routine, I think
it's a Yates thing (organised fun is good fun!) but I think all creatures
benefit from some kind of routine lifestyle. So firstly, the action of waking
up (at Sunrise) have a pranic building coffee or tea then making my way to the
shala gives an actual purpose to the day. This routine of getting on the mat
for 7am to face the practice and the day ahead gives you a reason to get out of
bed, and practicing before work means your purpose is not just to work, to pay
the bills to survive etc but to do something for you, your body and mind.
Even though you work
through the same sequence every day no two days are alike. Some days practice
flows through sweet and fluid, and some days it's stiff, rigid and frustrating,
and on other days, well it's pretty much a mixture of those two things, and
maybe even more emotions and feelings are thrown into the mix.
I really like this
excerpt from the book 'Guruji' by Eddie Stern and Guy Donahaye, this is written
in Guy's preface:
'When being adjusted in
a challenging asana (by Pattabi) /i sometimes felt on the precipice staring
down the abyss at the prospect of death or debilitating pain, but that maybe
salvation somehow was at hand' He goes on to talk about how Guruji would get
him into these postures and then remarks 'Oh! I didn't know that was possible!
Put my troubles on one side for a moment, put aside all my preconceptions about
what I am capable of doing. If one can do that for a moment, it affords one the
ability to put these troubles aside and later on, to look at these troubles and
let them go.
You see, working on your
practice you are reflecting your life on the mat. As you work through postures
you learn ways to deal with life situations. I teach a balancing focused
classes on Friday's and I try to draw the students awareness of how you
approach a balance in Yoga is how you can approach a situation in life that
requires strength, focus, stability, even flexibility.
So, routine of daily
practice reaps many rewards, if you want to try to do this and don't have the
luxury of living and working on a yoga retreat or being able to go to a Mysore
style class in your town all you have to do is wake up, roll the mat onto your
bedroom floor and start with five Surya Namaskar A and five B, maybe close your
practice with some mindfulness sat in easy cross legged and carry on about your
individual routine. You've hit every muscle group in your body, used breath to
link movement and it probably only takes 15 minutes of your morning before you
have your breakfast. Try it for a week and see how you get on!
Meanwhile, if you need
me, I'll be on my mat practicing my asana and working out my life!
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