Day 6, If Thinking Makes It So, So Be It January 16, 2011
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 21-Day Challenge, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Fitness, Health, Karma Yoga, Mantra, Meditation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Philosophy, Science, Twin Cities, Yoga.add a comment
Day 6
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become. “ – Guatama Siddharta, Buddha
“Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon.” – Denis Waitley
I am constantly amazed at how the mind works. The Yoga Sutra describes the 5 ways we think: correct perception, incorrect (or mistaken) perception, imagination, deep sleep, and memories. Patanjali explains in this same section that these thoughts, or perceptions, can be afflicted or free of affliction (YS I:5 – 6). It’s more than Cogito, Ergo Sum or even Dubito, Ergo Cogito, Ergo Sum. It’s Cogito Ergo Mundo Est: I think therefore the world (my version of reality) exists.
Sometimes we find out our perception of a situation is incorrect. It can be a devastating discover. No matter how much the realization shakes us, however, we ultimate fail or succeed based on our ability to accept the truth, recover from our mistake, and keep moving. Equally fascinating is what happens when we make a decision to do something, fully commit, and – in doing so – discover that everything around us seems to adjust to make space for our commitment. The world changes, reality shifts, all because we made up our mind.
Over the last 6 days, I have settled into a routine. I’m not sure how I feel about it; other than that I am astounded at how my schedule has shifted and coalesced around my commitment to Yoga Journal’s 21-Day Challenge. I drag myself out of bed every morning; mediate for 5 minutes (or not, depending on how many times I hit the snooze); prepare for my classes by practicing 30 – 90 minutes; rush off to teach my classes; and then round off my day with the video sequence, the 18-minute So Hum mediation, and a blog entry. In between, I deal with the rest of my life – which includes dealing with the snow. It hasn’t even been a full week yet (unless you count Day 0) and every day is different, but this is the schedule that seems to work. Sometimes I consider changing it. Other times I am content to let it evolve. At all times I am committed to the process, and the challenge.
Today, Day 6, is one of those days when I considered change and, in doing so, almost faltered. By the time I got home I was exhausted – and fighting it. At some point I recognized the pointlessness of not taking a nap. Still, because I hadn’t done the video sequence for the day or the mediation, I fought my body’s desire for sleep. Needless to say, I lost that fight. I woke up much later than I would have if I had set an alarm, but I was rested. Even though I woke up and accepted the need for a nap, Part of me dreaded pulling up the video. I wasn’t sure I could handle an intense practice and definitely didn’t need anything invigorating. Something restorative, I thought, would be nice right about now.
And this is when my thought manifested itself in the form of Rebecca Urban’s 30-Minute Tension Release Hip Openers. I couldn’t have asked for a better practice – oh, wait, I did ask for it! This was no slacker practice. It combined a sublime amount of surrender, hip flexion, and hip extension with just enough intensity and challenge. And even though I’d put my hips and hamstrings through the proverbial wringer for the last two days, my whole lower body felt nurtured and encouraged.
Towards the beginning of the sequence I wondered why this practice didn’t precede the one for Hanumanasana. By the end of the practice I realized it was a sequence that could be used to integrate the body for a peak pose like Hanumanasana; it could be expanded into a longer span of time; or it could be used as the surrender portion at the end of an intense vinyasa practice. It could also be practiced as it is; and what a wonderful thing it is.
My body felt ready for Savasana. It also felt ready for the seated meditation. My mind…well, that’s a story for another day.
~ NAMASTE ~
21 Days of Yoga (& Other Stuff) January 11, 2011
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 21-Day Challenge, 40-Day Challenge, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Fitness, Health, Karma Yoga, Mantra, Meditation, Philosophy, Texas, Yoga.add a comment
Day 0
We all begin somewhere. {Check back for link.}
Day 1
I’ve never done a 21-Day yoga challenge. I have, however, done several 40-Day yoga practices – and each one has changed my life. The fact that I have a fairly well established home practice (something I started with my first 40-Day practice) and teach yoga classes, may lead some to believe that the Yoga Journal event is a no-brainer for me. In fact, I’m looking at it as a true challenge. I’m also looking at it as an opportunity for change and growth. Finally, I’m looking at it as an opportunity to deepen my practice.
The funny thing is, we all have opportunities to change, grow, and deepen our yoga practice every day. But it’s easy to miss them. And, in some ways, teaching can create scenarios where we take these opportunities for granted – and, in doing so, miss them.
As a result of my teaching, I practice asana 5 – 7 days a week. However, a lot of my personal/home practice time is spent getting ready to teach, thinking about how various sequences will work with different groups, how I’ll cue them, and what modifications I can offer in a limited amount of time. More and more, I treasure the time I get on the mat and just focus on myself and what my body needs – and more and more, that treasured time seems to be decreasing. So, during these 3 weeks I want to re-focus and re-commit to my personal practice, while also finding a different kind of balance between how I practice as a student of yoga and how I practice as a teacher of yoga.
I’ve recommended the challenge to my students and, on the day before the challenge, I included a few poses featured in the most recent Yoga Journal in my personal practice and in my three regular Sunday classes (Day 0). In my personal practice, I did all of the recommended poses at the end of the practice. During the classes I taught, I worked in variations of almost all of the poses at the beginning or end of the practice. These poses, as well, as the accompanying article seemed like a perfect way for anyone to get started. It wasn’t super challenging (which can be perfect for a beginner or someone beginning a home practice), but it was also a good integrating or surrender series for someone wanting a more challenging sequence.
On Monday, I was very surprised to find that the “Fun Flow” featured as the first official sequence of the challenge was, well…challenging. Some people have commented that it was too much or too fast for a beginner, or even for someone who has been away from the mat for a while. I have to agree. I was also disappointed that there was no Savasana time included in the video. (You’re guided into the pose, but then the video ends – making it seem like Savasana doesn’t matter and giving no guidelines to a new practitioner. Grrr.) On the flip side, the sequence was put together well and Elise Lorimer gave clear, concise, and detailed instruction.
Yes, if you’re new to yoga it’s best to watch the video first – but that’s good advice for any non-classroom practice, regardless of your experience or fitness level. Unfortunately, that good advice is also part of the ultimate downside to the first day: given the need to preview the sequence (which I didn’t); the technical video difficulties a lot of people experienced (myself included); and the need for Savasana, completing the first day’s practice became a bigger time commitment than advertised.
While I waited for the download I did an 18-minute seated So Hum meditation that I originally planning to do afterward, and (after the flow sequence) I listened to the Nicolai Bachman audio feature on the Yoga Sutra-s (look under the video). The meditation, which I am also planning to do for the next 21 days, and the audio feature really fired me up to go deeper. While I’m glad I did the video sequence and I’m committed to doing the next 20-days worth, part of me wishes this was more like the World Yoga Project, the 40-Day program I completed several years ago. With WYP, each participant received a workbook with photos accompanying the sequence, which progressed over the 40 days. It wasn’t free, but part of the proceeds went to charity. Plus, you got to keep the workbook and could reference it whenever or where ever – no downloading required.
It’s easy to see the flaws in both methods. Neither is perfect. But then, something this big, involving this many people, can’t meet everyone’s definition of perfect. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s not…perfect.
At the end of the day, I have the same questions I had before I started:
- For whom is this challenged really geared?
- What type of practitioner is going to finish?
- What are we all going to learn from this process?
I also have the same final thoughts:
This is going to get interesting, and
this is going to be fun.
~ NAMASTE ~
Looking For Something To Do This Weekend? August 20, 2010
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Donate, Fitness, Food, Health, Karma, Karma Yoga, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Philosophy, Science, Twin Cities, Volunteer, Yoga.add a comment
Click on the “Karma Yoga” subpage and check out ways to dedicate your efforts to others.
