 |
OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Ideas for Your Yoga Practice |
|
|
|
Balancing Your Day
During times of stress, our bodies and minds can fall into familiar pattern: The first part of the day is spent worrying, procrastinating, denying our own stress and the difficulties we face. By sunset, the challenges have only become more stressful, and we spend what should be a calming part of the day rushing, blaming, panicking, or otherwise exploding. You can use your yoga practice to counterbalance the tendency to fall into this emotionally draining pattern. First, make a list of the challenges you face in your current yoga practice: the balancing poses you can only hold for one breath (if you can get into them at all!); the poses that test your courage (perhaps headstand or handstand); the poses that force you to recruit your deepest strength (perhaps navasana or lolasana). Put together a short, 20 minute practice that moves you into and out each of your most challenging poses. Keep it short and simple - it shouldn't exhaust you, and it can't be so intimidating that it becomes another thing to stress about. Begin with deep breathing and a few sun salutations or other warm-ups. Then systematically approach each challenging pose, even if you can't move all the way into it or sustain it. Fall out of headstand a hundred times if you want to. Check your attitude and your anxieties at the door - this practice is not about perfecting the poses. It is about working up the courage to simply face them, and to move in the direction of the challenge, rather than running from it. This is your AM practice - make sure to do it early in the day. It will counteract procrastination tendencies, get you moving in the direction of actively facing your challenges, and build confidence as you continue to practice 'the hard stuff' each day. Next, design a restorative practice full of all the poses you love to hold. Perhaps it includes the delicious sensation of deep forward bends or hip openers, or perhaps you prefer to support yourself with bolsters and blankets in a few meditative poses. Take an opening savasana and a finishing savasana. Don't rush. This is your mid-day or evening practice. It is a reward for being alive, not for accomplishing any specific goal, so don't put it off until you finish that "one last thing" (which usually turns into two or three or twenty last things). This practice keeps you calm, encourages you to take care of yourself, and counteracts the physiological effects of accumulated daily stress. Practice both, every day. Keep it as short and simple as you need to just make sure you show up to the mat. By including a challenging practice and a restorative practice in your daily routine, you will establish a healthy cycle of activity and rest that supports you during times when you feel overwhelmed by responsibilities or emotions. This article appeared in May 2005 Yogi Times Magazine.
Return to Ideas for Your Yoga Practice
Enjoy these ideas? Sign up to receive monthly ideas for your yoga practice in the free Open Mind Open Body Newsletter.
|
|