I was surprised to see how long it had been since I posted. So this is long overdue. As a yoga practioner I notice my practice ebbing and flowing with my life instead of praciticing with intention each time I come to my mat. I very often take it for granted and do a practice I am used to doing or a series of poses that are nice and easy feeling for me. I then notice that I walk away from my mat feeling dissatisifed. I experience the disconnection and then am not sure what to focus on. So during this time two things came up for me, 1) I attended my regular yoga class and we did a pose that I had not done in 12 years. Supported halasana with a bench. It was unbelievably difficult for me mentally and physically. The teacher tried helping me become more comfortable and finally had me come out. I spoke with a yoga teacher friend and we got together and approached it again. Finally coming to the conclusion that I needed to practice halasana in a whole differant way and to chose a differant pose if it came up again in class. Discovering that I was just not ready for it in that form was humbling. And then it brought back memories from when I first practiced it. 2) the other part that worked its way into my practice was a slight over stretching that I did while teaching. I was distracted by someone coming inside the classroom and fell out of my pose. I over stretched something in my hip from this little manuever. And ever since, my practice has had to be about resting it. It is intersting to me how the universe gave me a focus and a purpose behind my practice. I have since been focusing on one pose and relaxation in my daily practice. It is fun to just be in one pose for a period of time and or try alternative ways to prop it and practice it. I am being more mindful since I have had these two things to steer me. Looking more deeply and mindfully at the pose I do translates into the rest of my day. I look at everything more deeply and mindfully, it also lifts my spirit to know that I am able to adapt my practice. Judith Lasater in her daily yoga readings discussed adaptability vs flexibility. In yoga we become more aware and although I think of myself as a flexible person in life, I am actually able to adapt. The ability to adapt comes from our ability not to resist what is happening within ourselves. I took this into my daily life as a way to meet the challenges that come to me on a day to day basis. I can easily begin to resist even the smallest thing but knowing that I am beginning to resist, I then let go and move on or go with the flow of it.
If you are having trouble with your practice look at what the universe may be showing you and begin there..........
