Yoga poses are great (so are the pauses in between)

 It's been years since I was a smoker.  
I really enjoyed it, but realised it wouldn't be easy to stop.
 
Alan Carrs book, Quit Smoking offered an important stepping stone. The reframe it offers is that at first it feels like you are giving up something, that you are sacrificing your beloved cigarette and all that that comes with. But he turns it around.
 
He invited me to see that rather giving something up, I was gaining freedom from something. I would be free from the need to have a cigarette in my hand, I would enjoy better health, fresher clothes and breath, and save money.
 
The same net gain applies to the technique offered in this week's classes. It is a tiny yet powerful tweak to your practice that you can bring in at any time. 
 
 
It starts with just two breaths
Between each yoga pose, completely stop, for two breaths.
Leave the sweatshirt where it is, feel the rogue hair on your face but don't adjust it, and just stand and experience the moment - even if it is uncomfortable. 
 
An intentional pause. A hiatus from the constant movement and reactivity to impulses that arise in us all day long. These might be the only moments of stillness in your entire day. 
 
It has had a powerful effect on many of you. 
 
 
It can be a revelation
I know, we come to yoga to move right? But...
 
Some have felt relief, spaciousness, feeling more free once the option to adjust and lose the focus is contained.
 
I'm sure others who didn't like it found it tricky or frustrating or uncomfortable, but it is interesting to try either way and something to practice. 
 
 
Stillness is underrated 
Unintentional moving expends energy and encourages us to be  constantly distracted.
 
At first it might feel like an effort not to move. Changing a long-time habit might meet resistance.
 
But like Alan Carr, try flipping this on its head. Instead of seeing it as effort to remain still, see is as freedom from habits that might not be serving you well.
 
 
Pointless? Try it anyway
 It starts with 2 small breaths, staying completely still after each pose. It might feel uncomfortable, unnatural, or even pointless.  That is okay, try it anyway.
 
Over time, it develops into being comfortable with stillness. And once you find that, the relief is immense and quite a revelation. 
 
Yoga is sometimes called a 'moving meditation' but in many ways, the moving aspects of yoga practice are the precursor to learning how to be still physically with ease, then mentally. The asanas (postures) prepare you, your body and your mind to feel more comfortable in finding stillness and calmness that can be taken into a more contemplative phase to your yoga journey and help find more space and ease in day-to-day life.
 
Enjoy. ​