Continuing Practice - all is coming?

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!