 Do you collapse in a heap at the end of the day?
Do any of these sound right: 1) If our yoga feels hard, then we must be getting more benefit. 2) If it feels easy, then it can't be 'doing' anything. 3) If we invest more in something, it has to pay us back with what we want. More effort = better results. Let's think again. There is a false belief that if we do something that is hard, or do more of it, it will give us better results. Of course this can't be true. If eat chocolate, it might feel good at first. If I keep on eating lots and lots of chocolate, my mood won't continue to feel better and better and better. I will get to a point where my body will grumble and I'll feel horrible. The amount of time and effort we put into something needs to be just right, and the way to tell is often subtle. We are used to listening to our heads, not our bodies or more subtle sensations or energetic cues. Our willpower often determines our level of effort. We override everything else. We do the hard stuff, enjoy the buzz, and carry on. Even though we may be increasing our stress levels, not noticing that we have become accustomed to struggling through our days and collapsing in a heap at the end. Yoga practice can become that quieter place where things become easier to listen to. We learn to attend to the subtle cues in the body, in the breath and in how grounded we feel. We start to notice that we are rushing, or pushing into a pose, or struggling to breathe well instead of inviting a full unfolding of ease and stability in each pose, and in each breath. Of course, at first this may feel elusive or even impossible but once established in your practice, sensitivity increases. Yoga helps us move and breathe better, to become more aware of ourselves, our habits, our blind spots and helps us work with ourselves in a much more skillful way. We learn to listen with openness, care and attention. And listening in this way is definitely a skill worth cultivating. Ultimately it can help unfold a new dimension of relationship to ourselves, and to those around us. And help us avoid the need to collapse in a heap at the end of each day. ___
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 One of my students said she feels the same after her yoga class as she does when she gets back from holiday.
The summer vibe after a holiday is a good place to reside, even when we are back in the swing of day-to-day life. Of course there are responsibilities and challenges to meet when the holiday is over, but we can rekindle our summer mindset which helps us live with more ease and joy. We're not glossing over the trials we encounter or pretending that everything is okay. We.re not turning our backs on it all which we might do when on holiday. The chaos and worries in our external lives are very real and need to be met with our clearest head and our best heart. The reset back to this is where our yoga practice comes front and centre. Grounding back into our bodies, noticing how out of balance we are. Moving back towards a more harmonious relationship with ourselves. None of this is hard to do, but you need to make time to do it - regularly. Showing up and committing to your movement, breath and meditation practices has never been more necessary. Slowing down and paying more attention to the postural habits we've built up. Re-training the aches and pains for greater ease and freedom. Building a better foundation of support physically, mentally and emotionally. Re-discovering that beneath all the tensions and stresses there is a consistent and quiet foundation that is all too easy to lose sight of. Here are 3 great ways to help keep that summer feel-good vibe: 1) Spend time outside in the daylight, even if its raining. It all counts and is even more important as the days shorten and get gloomier. 2) Get to your class or re-ignite your regular home practice - or even better, both. 3) Keep up some of the good habits you picked up this summer. Spend time relaxing, reading, exercising, gardening, whatever it is you enjoy in the summer. Make time for it. Even when life is hard on the outside, our relationship to all of what is going on is up to us. How we show up and respond is more within our power than we may at first realise. Yoga helps us ride the waves instead of getting churned up in the breakers. You can always find summer on the inside. It doesn't go anywhere, we just need ways to reconnect to it. |
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Bristol YogaSpace Ltd
Princes Place, Bishopston Just off Gloucester Road Bristol BS7 8NP |
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