Wednesday, April 29, 2009
To Kill an Ego
Today is day 4 of continuous pranayama practice, and I’m really digging the observation part. All my goal-driven ego has to do is get me to lie on my back, and then I watch it try to grab fistfuls of breath, fail, get confused, and finally dissolve.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Breath by Breath
Today as I was walking home from work, I decided that it might be fun to chronicle my pranayama practice by blogging about it daily…well, every-other-day, or perhaps “regularly” might be more realistic. I have no idea if this will be interesting or not, but I can at least start by telling you why I set an intention to practice pranayama daily for at least 30 days straight.
First, I have to admit, I’m wondering if pranayama will change my life or improve me in some way. I wish that wasn’t my motivation, but there it is. In an ironic sort of way, I’m also wondering if pranayama will alleviate my constant thirst for self-improvement and that nagging sense of “never enough.”
Sunday was day 1. Monday, I attended my weekly Iyengar-ish pranayama class. Today was day 3. So far, so good. I’ll let you know how it goes.
First, I have to admit, I’m wondering if pranayama will change my life or improve me in some way. I wish that wasn’t my motivation, but there it is. In an ironic sort of way, I’m also wondering if pranayama will alleviate my constant thirst for self-improvement and that nagging sense of “never enough.”
Sunday was day 1. Monday, I attended my weekly Iyengar-ish pranayama class. Today was day 3. So far, so good. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Why You Should Smoke
I have a new favorite quote from the Bhagavad-Gita that is inspiring both my yoga practice and my writing:
“…no one should give up his natural work, even though he does it imperfectly. For all action is involved in imperfection, like fire in smoke.”
As a yoga teacher in training, it’s okay for me to suck at verbalizing instructions. As a writer, it’s okay that I make grammar bloopers and ramble about uninteresting things. It’s just smoke coming from the fire of action.
So, what’s your natural work? Have you found it yet? Have you started smoking, or are you too embarrassed to do it?
“…no one should give up his natural work, even though he does it imperfectly. For all action is involved in imperfection, like fire in smoke.”
As a yoga teacher in training, it’s okay for me to suck at verbalizing instructions. As a writer, it’s okay that I make grammar bloopers and ramble about uninteresting things. It’s just smoke coming from the fire of action.
So, what’s your natural work? Have you found it yet? Have you started smoking, or are you too embarrassed to do it?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Thawing Out
If you’ve been doing yoga for any significant amount of time, you’ve probably discovered the “problem” areas in your body. I’m talking about that action your yoga teacher can demonstrate so clearly, but no matter how hard you try, you can’t make your body do it.
My problem is holding tension in my collarbones. When I try to open my chest, my upper chest and shoulders curl forward and halt the action. Another common “problem” condition that tends to baffle beginners is a frozen sacrum or tailbone. My husband can’t seem to tilt his tailbone forward and backward, which makes refining poses like tadasana difficult to nearly impossible.
A recent talk from Tara Brach helped me understand how to better navigate these yoga impasses. We can’t will ourselves to release, she says. Instead, the more awareness we have of our conditioning, the less we’re identified with it and then the letting go happens spontaneously.
So, with my collarbone conditioning, I’m just observing. I’m exploring my collarbones in everything from pranayama to trikonasana to sitting-at-my-deskanasana. I’m also doing a few exercises recommended by my yoga teacher. Hopefully between the two strategies, my collarbones will unfreeze into spontaneous suppleness.
My problem is holding tension in my collarbones. When I try to open my chest, my upper chest and shoulders curl forward and halt the action. Another common “problem” condition that tends to baffle beginners is a frozen sacrum or tailbone. My husband can’t seem to tilt his tailbone forward and backward, which makes refining poses like tadasana difficult to nearly impossible.
A recent talk from Tara Brach helped me understand how to better navigate these yoga impasses. We can’t will ourselves to release, she says. Instead, the more awareness we have of our conditioning, the less we’re identified with it and then the letting go happens spontaneously.
So, with my collarbone conditioning, I’m just observing. I’m exploring my collarbones in everything from pranayama to trikonasana to sitting-at-my-deskanasana. I’m also doing a few exercises recommended by my yoga teacher. Hopefully between the two strategies, my collarbones will unfreeze into spontaneous suppleness.
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