Yoga has come down from the monasteries of Nepal and I’m thankful for that, because today people all around the world can benefit from the wisdom of ancient philosophy. On the other hand, its accessibility has led to what was inevitable: a watering-down of the true message behind it and making it a western lifestyle. While it is still ok to enjoy all yoga benefits this way, I must say that almost all of us have at some stage, been doing yoga wrong.
I started teaching yoga 8 years ago and I’ve never had a single class with students knowing perfectly what to do and how to do it. I’ve been lucky enough to meet people who don’t know what a downward dog is because as a teacher, I love being able to go over even basic stuff with students who are OK with asking questions. So, the first misunderstanding that I want to write about is in the way we think!
I’ll pretend I know what I’m doing
It is perfectly natural to want to look as if you know a little bit more than what you do, but you definitely don’t need to do this! And yet we do it all the time because it works, fake it till you make it! Especially if you have a quick mind and if you have been to fitness classes in the past you can fake it and get away with it. But the point is that you’ve also gotten a step away from yourself. It is more challenging to allow you the awkwardness of uncertainty. The moment you lift your gaze and ask where should I put this foot or this hand is the moment you decide to take care of yourself. A moment where you are being yourself rather than acting yourself and this is where wellbeing begins.
This being said, fitness-yoga type classes will benefit you as long as physical benefits are what you are looking for. This is where my Yoga journey began, finding a strong Primary Ashtanga series helped me connect with my body in a way I did not know it was possible. I felt fit and able in these classes in a way I never did in gym classes. It took a long time for me to stop pretending I knew I was doing and started really listening to what was being said, and then the philosophy and mindfulness of the practices started snaking into my consciousness.
Is striking a pose merely an activity?
Most of the time it isn’t about the pose – it is about what the pose can teach you! This is a phrase I heard when I started practicing and it caused me a bit of eye-rolling. I have since come to accept this inner eye-rolling cynic and endeavor to respect this part of myself by finding out ‘what does it mean’!
Firstly with any pose as long as you are able to bring relaxation, breathing and alignment together and in the right way, you will benefit from the activity and it’s not about “achieving” perfection. I believe this, and I teach that you guide yourself in the direction of a particular pose, but as you do, you accept where you are and use the breath to explore the space you have and your own potential for new space. Once the pose has been achieved, you will more than likely want to take it further. Through any stage you can explore mindfully how the pose changes you, challenges you, and makes you feel afterward.
Recently a good friend shared with me how she had gotten into wheel for the first time, and we both struggled to find the words to describe how it feels, to turn yourself inside out and upside down. Especially that first time, it comes back to signals that fire up in the unconscious mind that I referred to in ‘Your Wellbeing Warrior’. Something shifts in your subconscious, your perspective shifts slightly and you feel different, better, new even. Once those signals are ignited it connects you to a deeper understanding of you. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes profound but it is very much real and not imaginary.
Poses I couldn’t fully achieve or strike the first time, have taught me way more than the poses I have nailed. I’ve been deeply humbled by the power and breadth of the asanas and I want my students to experience the same, as this will allow an acceptance and respect for your body’s idiosyncrasies. Anything new is good, and if accepting your limitations without judging yourself is new to you then that’s a pretty perfect place to start.
Striking a pose might be not be easy.
Easy Pose is not that easy, especially if you are a beginner. I ask my students at the beginning of my class to take comfortable seated position. And most of us arrive down on our mats and looking like we are doing a simple Shukasana (Easy Pose). But sitting cross-legged can be problematic, especially when there are tight hip-flexors, glutes or hamstrings. It can then become difficult to sit in this one position for a long time. I explain yoga poses in great detail in a number of my articles and you are encouraged to read all of them. Here I just want to point out that tightness in the glutes and hamstrings can cause the pelvis to tuck under and the back to round when sitting. For many people this is a problem so it is important to pay attention to how your hips are positioned. Simply placing a block, blanket or rolled up mat under your hips when seated can relieve the strain on your lower back.
There is one yoga pose that is super popular and probably everyone has heard of it. It’s downward facing dog. In this pose forcing your heels all the way to the ground can also be unhealthy for your lower back when there are tight glutes and hamstrings. To alleviate this strain in downward dog I guide students to bend their knees and lift the hips as high as possible. Working towards straightening the legs and dropping the heels over time and with practice but these queues are not essential to gain benefit from downward dog.
Bridge pose is an important backbend to master before setting your sights on wheel pose. People often turn their feet out, have their knees go out wide, and clench their glutes. That narrows the back of the pelvis and can cause back pain. Imagining you are holding a ball between your knees will guide your thighs to rotate inwards, opening space across the lower back and hip flexors and allow your hips to open and lift higher. Instead, you can keep your feet and knees parallel, and work your inner thigh muscles, instead of your glutes. When it comes to yoga poses, understanding of biomechanics is important. And if a pose is too difficult for some reason, I work with my students to either help them to overcome difficulties or to find a substitute.
Trying too hard is not advisable.
If you find yourself struggling to stay in chair pose, or repeated Vinyasa flows are causing you physical discomfort, it’s okay to admit this. Yoga is meant to help those who practice, achieve a feeling of calm and whole-body connectivity, along with increasing flexibility and muscle tone. Also, yoga isn’t something you can master in a day; the process of learning new poses and techniques is very gradual and takes time and practice. As you continue to do yoga on a regular basis, your muscles will become more limber and toned allowing you to tackle the more challenging poses. Again, in case you overexert yourself during your practice, modify the poses to a place where you feel comfortable and eventually work up to the harder stuff. Remember, that one of the main goals of yoga is to create a flow and interconnectivity throughout the body. So do not lose yourself in forcing poses. Once you start forcing your body you lose connection with your breath and with flow.
Are you paying attention to your breathing.
By inhaling and exhaling as you hold or change your poses, you help to create a smooth and connected practice. Breathing is so important to yoga. Vinyasa, one of the most popular forms of exercise is actually named after breathing. It means “breath linked to movement” in Sanskrit.
‘Breath awareness’, ‘connect with your breath’, ‘tune-in and breath’ are all phrases you will hear at most yoga classes, don’t let familiarity with a phrase cause you to lose the meaning of it. It all comes down to noticing your breathing and using different breath tools to enhance the quality of your breathing.
A rhythmic breathing pattern helps to establish connectivity and it helps to energize your exercise. By inhaling you bring oxygen into your body, through the lungs and into every cell of your entire body, providing your body and muscles with more energy to work. By exhaling when stretching your muscles or ending a pose, you help to relax the muscles and the mind.
While practicing yoga, paying attention to your breathing pattern also helps you to keep your focus. This will make your practice more calming and productive. Without this connection your practice will eventually will turn into a series of moves which will give you a physical workout, but little to no mental or spiritual benefits. Getting into the rhythm of the flow helps keep your mind unoccupied.
Keeping your mind unoccupied.
It is not unusual for your mind to drift away while relaxing in Savasana. You might find yourself focusing on what you’ll have for dinner, or feel that urge to check your social media notifications. When this happens it may feel like you are doing something wrong! There is a lot of pressure on us to ‘clear your mind’. Yoga was created with intention to stretch and relax entire body, including the brain. In Savasana by bringing awareness into the sensations in your body it allows the mind a chance to rest, even if it just for a moment. The golden nugget is that if you have noticed your mind has wandered it means you’re already back in the moment watching your mind wander. Savasana is about being the observer; it is in this time that your body does its own magic. The only requirement from you is to relax, allow your body to relax and notice how this relaxation feels in the body. In this relaxed state your body’s own repair and recovery mechanisms kick into place and rejuvenation takes place on the cellular level. You can switch your mindset from believing that you ‘should’ have a quiet mind in Savasana to using the sensations of the Savasana relaxation to help quiet the mind. Not only will you feel like you’ve gotten in a good workout, but you will feel more mentally cleansed which brings about energy and focus.
After the pose is just as important as being in it.
This may make more sense now after exploring the purpose of Savasana above. After every yoga pose as well as after every yoga class it’s important to take the moments in between to notice how you feel, physically, mentally and emotionally. Practicing this through yoga also allows you to bring that awareness into other aspects of your life. How did that eight-hour flight feel? That hug with a friend? How has your energy changed since you ate that plate full of vegetables? How is that different from eating a fried meat? You can learn how to take a moment to “observe the change” more often in your day. Taking note of how different social interactions, stressors, or foods affect you will help inform your decisions on what feels good, what makes you happy, and what you want more (or less) of in your life.
Master the practice and the wellbeing will follow
The first and final inclination we have is to compare ourselves to others, to assume that others know more or are more skilled than we are. To become a master means to acquire complete knowledge or skill in a subject, on your mat, the subject is you! You are the only person who can ever know you as well as you do. When you compare yourself to others, you occupy your mind with the skills and abilities of others. Your mind, as wonderful as it is, simply cannot hold space to fully imagine your full potential when cluttered with the actions of others. On your mat you can use yoga to start the Practice of Mastering yourself. Off your mat having this mastery can clear a path in whatever direction you want to go. If wellbeing is your destination then the first question you must ask when looking for direction is ‘Where am I now’?
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