We're half-way through the "Challenge"! I've been hearing from a number of you who've been doing the "30 Day Yoga Challenge" and it sounds like it's going reasonably well! Don't worry if you miss a day or two here and there -- just pick up where you left off. You don't have to "make-up" the days that you missed, but do try not to miss too many -- that just makes it too easy to quit altogether.
I was thinking back to when I played classical guitar 30 years ago. I loved it and was pretty good at it for awhile, but ended up putting off my practice too often for too long, and finally gave up -- kind of sad considering how much satisfaction and enjoyment I got out of it when I DID practice!
If you feel now that the original goals you set for the "Yoga Challenge" are unrealistically high, re-evaluate and change them to something you can stick with, but don't give up entirely! Just do less for now. Find a practice pattern that works for you.
If you start to feel stressed about the whole idea of practice -- quickly do 3 or 4 of your favorite poses -- maybe it will take you just 5 minutes -- and don't worry at all about if you're getting them "right". Just do them because you enjoy them. I assure you that you'll feel better for it! And maybe the 5 minutes will turn into 10 or 15 or 20 minutes...and maybe not, but you've done those 5 minutes and your favorite poses! That's a good thing!
On the other hand, if this has been a fairly easy process for you and you're really enjoying your practice, consider occasionally adding in a longer practice. Think of it as a treat for yourself!
I do a longer practice once or twice a week on quieter days when I'm not teaching as much, and don't have many other obligations. On these days I can really settle into the poses, turn them around in my head and experience them more fully when I feel I'm not rushed. It's during these practices that I see more rapid growth in my understanding of the poses.
You may not have time to devote to long practices -- I understand how busy you all are -- but even commiting 10 - 15 minutes a day 3 times a week solely for your own practice, for your own self, is a great gift to yourself, and will leave you feeling more centered and refreshed both physically and mentally.
We're over 1/3 of the way through our 30 Day Yoga Challenge! How are you doing with your practice? What's difficult about your practice? What's easy?
This YouTube video is an excerpt from a film tribute shown in Boston in 2005 during B.K.S. Iyengar's "Light On Life" tour of the U.S. The video quality isn't great in some parts (it's okay) but I hope it inspires you!
The video is narrated by Patricia Walden, one of the top two Iyengar Yoga teachers of the U.S. (The other is Manouso Manos, most recently in Ann Arbor this past November.)
I won't review the whole video -- I'll let it speak mostly for itself. But I do want to share some of my thoughts about the references to the practice of yoga.
Patricia narrates that in the 1970's, those who took classes from B.K.S. Iyengar did many, many poses in each class, while he "rained instructions on [them] with a torrent of intensity". His focus was on movement andaction to fuse the body and mind, and to bring about "freedom" in the body and mind.
(BTW, the first set of public classes taught by B.K.S. Iyengar in the U.S. was in Ann Arbor, sponsored by our YMCA in 1973!)
Patricia then says that as the years passed, Guruji (B.K.S. Iyengar) added new dimensions to his teaching. He taught fewer poses per class, but took the students deeper within each pose.
There's a phrase of his that's mentioned in this video which I've heard before, and which reflects the growth of his teaching and his practice of yoga asanas (poses), "When I was young, I played. Now, I stay."
When we're new to yoga, it makes more sense (in my mind) to do a lot of poses; to play in them, to bring about better range of motion in the body, and to wake up the intelligence of the body. We don't hold them long to begin with -- but we get a taste of the poses and how our bodies and minds react to them. As we begin to understand the poses better, and begin to develop the stability and alignment to hold them longer with more ease, then we can begin to explore them more deeply. Even if we are not beginners, when we try a new pose or a new set of poses it's best to just touch on them, to playfully explore them, and as we become more proficient then we can explore them more fully. (How about those arm balances, for example? Hard to explore them very deeply when we fall out of them after a second or two! Or can't quite lift off yet! So I'm still continuing to work on them, along with the more familiar poses.)
Or if we're feeling sluggish, our minds can't really attend to the more profound elements of the poses, so we move quickly from pose to pose to invigorate the body and mind. Then maybe we can work more deeply in the poses. We need both the physical and mental conditioning to do this.
When we are more alert, and when our minds and bodies are attentive, then Guruji asks us to "explore to find out where we are dull or overworking, and to adjust, so consciousness can grace the body evenly throughout." We don't practice just for the sake of the physical practice, but we practice with with an attentive, discerning mind to explore: What part of the pose is coming along, what part is not? Why is it coming along, or not? How do I change what I need to change?
Patricia comments that Guruji has "taught us to face difficulty with wide open eyse, and to awaken the boundless intelligence of the heart."
I have a few Yoga Journal calendars for sale at the studio. List price is $13.95, but since it's already almost February (they arrived LATE), I'm selling them for $12.00.
Originally I was hoping to have them in early January, but....the first box arrived damaged with no calendars. Someone ended up with a few cool calendars for free....
I've been buying these calendars for myself for a number of years. The pictures are inspiring and there's plenty of space for writing in your daily activities.
One of the challenges I've given myself for this 30 Day Yoga Challenge is to become more proficient in the arm balances, such as the pose shown here, Bakasana (crane or crow pose).
On first glance, it seems that these poses would need a great deal of arm strength. Of course that's an important component, but just arm strength won't get us there.
We also need enough flexibility to bring the arms and legs into position, and enough core strength to hold them in place as we lift off from the floor. And of course we need the balance to keep us from tipping!
Most of the "usual" poses we do in class require lengthening the front of our trunk with respect to the back of the trunk; lifting and broadening the chest as we move the shoulder blades down and into the back to support the opening of the chest. (Think of how we often start class, practicing to lift the sternum and broaden across the collar bones).
However, in the arm balances, we lengthen, broaden, and round the back of the trunk. We lengthen the tailbone away from the back waist, tucking it under to lengthen and broaden the low back; and we spread the shoulder blades away from each other to broaden and round the upper back. To hold this all in place, we draw the abdominal muscles up and in toward the spine. John Schumacher, in the latest issue of Yoga Journal (Feb. 2010) advises for these poses, "Visualize wrapping yourself around a beachball".
Of course I don't want to work on these poses all by myself! So, this past week in the higher level classes we've worked on some of the arm balances, first doing Adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog) for strengthening the arms and wrists, some hip-opening poses and variations, twists to help the spine become more supple, and Navasana (boat pose) variations for the abdominals.
Arm balances we worked on (depending on the class): Lolasana (pendant pose) Eka hasta bhujasana (one leg hooked over an arm, the other leg straight) Dwi hasta bhujasana (both legs hooked over upper arms).
These are difficult poses for most people, so practice them with a sense of playfulness and equanimity! Enjoy the process of figuring them out in your own body!
How are you all doing with your practice? What kinds of problems are you facing? It's during your practice that you'll start to see more clearly where your difficulties lie, and it's during your practice that, after some reflection (or asking questions, or reading about the poses) that you'll start to figure out how to move through these difficulties.
Here's a mini-sequence of the Warrior poses that you can work on, by itself or as a part of a longer practice. The Warrior poses are challenging to many of us. Observe where your difficulties lie in these poses. What is similar from pose to pose? What is different? What do you remember about these poses from class (or is some of this new to you)? Were you given any instructions that helped your own pose during class?
In Warrior 2 and Warrior 1, bring front leg to right angle.
In all three poses, keep spine, back leg and arms fully extended!
As you transition from W. 1 to W. 3, step your back foot toward your front foot until you can shift all weight to your front leg as you push off with back leg.
If balancing in Warrior 3 is difficult, take hands to wall. But don't give up on the balance right away! Try it a bit, wobble a bit, develop a sense of equanimity about your challenges in these poses, then move on to something else!
For inspiration, look up the Warrior poses in Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar, pp. 71 -- 74. Look at the extension in his arms and legs! He says that all standing poses are strenuous (you've experienced that, correct?), and in particular Warrior 1, so it shouldn't be held long by anyone, even those who are fairly strong. (He recommends holding it 20 - 60 seconds per side).
Here it is, the first day of the 30 Day Yoga Challenge! Have you practiced today? How did it go?
Harmony Yoga students, if you haven't picked up the info about this Challenge at the studio, and would like to receive it, you can contact me, and I'll email you attachments and other info.
IYNAUS (Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States) has just started a blog that people can contribute to, and the first subject is.....Home Practice. If you have time, I suggest you read the first two essays at least (which are listed at the bottom of that page), "Starting Now", and "Pathway to Practice". Both have excellent ideas for developing your own practice. I'll be choosing parts of these essays to pass along to you in my blog posts.
Richard Jonas, who wrote the first essay, "Starting Now", writes, "When you begin to practice at home you really learn, really experience the transformative effects of yoga -- on body, mind and spirit. How can you get a Home Practice? Get up tomorrow -- practice -- then do it every day after that."
His first tip, one that I've also given, is to "Start slow". Be realistic with your goals so you don't become disappointed if you can't stick to them. Richard says, "... do a few poses that you know and feel confident with. When you've finished, lie down for a five-minute Savasana. Ten minutes and you've got a Home Practice"
He says start with a few familiar asanas. Poses we often do in class that make a good practice sequence include sitting or standing and stretching the arms, Triangle pose, Side angle pose, Downward facing dog pose, Pose of the Child. If you have time, do each pose twice, then go on to the next pose. Then maybe legs up the wall, or shoulderstand if you feel confident in that pose, and Savasana (the resting pose you do at the end of each class).
Originally, the two extra classes on Saturday, January 23 were meant to be free classes for Harmony Yoga students and for any other interested people, as a way to "unofficially" celebrate Yoga Day USA.
Given the horrendous nature of the destruction in Haiti from the earthquake, I'll also have an envelope out for donations to the Red Cross. Checks can be made either to Harmony Yoga or to American Red Cross, with "Haitian relief" written in the "for" space.
I'll have the envelope out for donations through out this next week if you'd like to donate but can't attend the Saturday classes.
Suggested donations $5 -- $50 (and more or less is fine).
Another way to donate $10 is texting "HAITI" to 9-0-9-9-9 (see Michelle Obama plea)
Classes will of course still be free for anyone who prefers this.
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