Next up: Part 4 of Poop, Pray, Move … what else do you think is fundamental to a healthy yoga lifestyle? I’m being kinder to my joints, I’m aware of my heartbeat and breathing, and any time I feel the need to do MORE, I pause and ask myself if what I am already doing is enough, and can I still feel the relaxation in the effort?Īnd when the answer is yes, I know am in that perfect place to experience the unfolding of the rose flower and inhale the heady scent of yoga. After my time in India, my asana practice is both strong AND therapeutic, a place of even more ease. It makes me feel alive, it calms my mind, it connects me to my breath.
Are you a knee hyperextender? Don’t know? See this excellent article from Julie Gudmestad and find out. I’ve been practicing a less zealous form of yoga for years (often being encouraged to do more, hold it longer, “work to your edge”) and yet I’ve still suffered injury in the hamstring attachments and I’ve overstretched ligaments at the back of my knees. The tighter they become, and the more we push into the stretch? Perfect combination for injuries to happen (yes, here it comes again … NOT good!) We also learnt it’s not necessary to hold a pose at its maximum, for as long as possible. I’m not a physiotherapist nor a physiology nerd, but if the muscles fatigue to the point where they’re no longer doing a good job of holding the pose, we can end up stressing the joints (NOT good!) And if we then lock the joints to maintain a pose on behalf of fatigued muscles, we’re not engaging and strengthening the muscles – instead we can end up compressing the joints (NOT good!) Finally, when we’re straining and forcing the pose, the muscles become tighter, instead of stretched.
Throughout our yoga asanas, we keep connecting again and again to the breath breathing fully and allowing a smooth and even breath to feed the body and calm the mind. That’s the barometer for whether we are overdoing it. In fact, especially when we are doing challenging poses. Patanjali reminds us that calm and measured breathing is a critical part of healthy yoga movement, even when we are doing challenging poses.
Yoga pose is mastered by relaxation of effort, lessening the tendency for restless breathing, and promoting an identification of oneself as living within the infinite breath of life.” – The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali “Yoga pose is a steady and comfortable position. We listened, and ironically, our bodies became stronger and more flexible through a path of ease and mindfulness, as opposed to a grim determination to muscle our way through countless vinyasas and pretzel poses. Yogi Sivadas’ constant message was, “ slow down, take your time, feel your breath, always be mindful about what your body needs, rest when you need to”. We didn’t approach our asanas with the kind of fervid and fanatical drive that we so often see in yoga. Of course, we were on a yoga teacher training program, so we were smelling the roses AND we were touching the thorns we were doing asanas. A sort of yoga perspective on “Stop and smell the roses”. The asanas are a way of purifying the body and when the flower unfolds, we experience the hidden beauty within. If you only do asana, you won’t find the hidden beauty of yoga, which is inner peace.” The true beauty of yoga is hidden beyond the asanas. Here’s a perfect analogy, from our teacher, Yogi Sivadas: “It’s like touching a thorn on a rosebud and thinking that is all that a rose is – you’ll say ‘rose is prickly’ and you’ll miss out on smelling the perfume, because the flower hasn’t blossomed yet. Surprise, surprise … in India, yoga is not typically an exercise you come to perform on your mat three times a week – it’s a way of life more than just a workout.Īsanas (the physical yoga postures) are not yoga. Part 1 and Part 2 covered the Poop and Pray part, and now we add Move. I’ve been condensing two months of extensive yoga studies in India into 5 key areas, to simplify maintaining this healthy lifestyle, back home. Easing into Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana) at Kailash Tribal School of Yoga