“The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself.” – B. K. S. Iyengar
When I began my yoga journey I was a 14 year old overachieving ballerina. My practice looked like I was showing off for the world. I constantly looked around the room to see if other yogis noticed me in my standing split. I constantly got up from my mat to go to the bathroom to escape the five thousandth warrior two that the teacher insisted on calling (rude). I was restless on my mat during savasana (corpse pose), and didn’t know what to do with my breath let alone what the complexity of ujjayi breath (victorious breath) meant for me. Looking back on my first class I am humbled by (and a little embarrassed by) my young yogi self. I was so drawn to the spirituality of yoga, the language of sanskrit, and it was really the only time I felt confident in my own skin. It was the first time I didn’t feel judged and I truly felt connected to the self that I was desperately searching for. I realize that others experiences in the very beginning may contradict this, BUT, no matter your preconceived notions on yoga, it will eventually be lovely to get to this point. All yogis are lucky enough to be able to honor whatever their practice may be, and end up in a state of blissful connection with themselves. How fantastic is it that we have an outlet to be able to work through this? My practice has ebbed and flowed over the years. Upon completion of my teacher training I was a gung-ho yogi. I wanted all of my students to be able to stand on their heads and balance on their elbows… now I just want my students to soften and break down the layers of tension that create a resistance to life so to speak. My daily practice, for myself, contains all of these elements. Yes I can stand on my head and I can balance on my hands, but I also have this vast understanding that slowing down before I speed it up is vital to my body and my practice.
A daily practice for me is simple for the most part. Sometimes it gets fancy, if I’m feeling ambitious, but I am delving into a deeper meditation practice and only a few poses do that for me right now. Heres a little glimpse of my daily practice!
✻ First I come to a comfortable seated position somewhere on my mat. Usually easy seat, sometimes lotus if my hips and my knees are feeling up to it. I find length in my spine and the front of my neck. My shoulders roll down and back to rest away from my ears, and my hands usually find their way to the tops of my knees in Gyana Mudra, my thumb and my index finger come together while the other three fingers stay together, extended. This mudra creates a closed of circuit for energy to continuously flow through, out and back, so that it doesn’t escape your body. This is a grounding mudra that increases creativity and is a gesture of knowledge. Once I settle into this posture I begin to focus less on the physical and more on the mental process. I begin to tap into my breathing, and activate ujjyai breath, sealing my lips, I inhale through the nose and out of the nose with a slight constriction of the back of my throat. I sit here anywhere from 5-12 minutes.
✻ Next I move through Surya Namaskar A & B (sun salutations) to warm up for my practice. Getting my Prana to begin to flow and heat to build within to protect my joints and warm up my muscles. Ujjayi breath is maintained through my entire practice.
Alignment for downward facing dog ✻ Ribs pulled in, sits bones tilted up towards the sky, heels actively pressing down, feet are hips width apart and hands are shoulder width apart, and underarms reaching towards the knees.
✻ Next I move through various standing poses, whichever ones my body tells me to move through that day. I enjoy incorporating binds into my hamstring stretches and twists.
✻ After usually two sequences I play around with inversions and arm balances. Here I challenge myself with strength building poses, some conditioning, and postures parallel with an ashtanga practice, usually from the secondary series.
✻ At this point in my practice I begin to wind down. This consists of seated poses, reclined postures and twists. I always incorporate an inversion and a backbend in my personal practice and when I teach. I believe this brings the practice full circle and balances out the chakras.
✻ Now comes final resting pose Savasana. This pose completes the practice with a still meditation. It allows all of the nadis in the body that we have been filling with energy throughout the practice to flow freely with prana without being disturbed by movement. This pose is responsible for allowing me to access and tap into my inner consciousness while resting my physical body. This is probably the most physically enjoyed pose throughout a practice, but should be the most difficult pose for our psyche.
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My personal yoga practice is full of giggles, tears, successes, failures, triumphs, and tribulations. My practice is unique to myself, and when compared, could be the most simple or the most complicated practice depending on who it is being compared to. I am more than grateful for my ability to be able to deepen my physical and mental practice on a daily basis. I see myself making improvements every day. Most of all I am grateful for any time I get to spend on my mat or even just my bedroom floor in child’s pose. I hope that someday you can experience this same joy that I feel when I step onto my mat.
On another note, there is a lunar eclipse happening today. Since it is the middle of the summer this means it is a very balanced time for us. Summer means heat and a lot of yang energy flowing about. The moon and the lunar energy compliments this with yin and calming feminine energy. Of course North America is the only place you wont be able to view this cosmic event, But we will feel its energy as it moves past earth.
I hope your weekend is filled with love and awesome motivational cosmic energy.
Thanks for reading,
Namaste.
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SoulWorks Yoga 