Repetition = Familiarity = Acceptance = Growth = Peace
I am feeling new sensations within poses, making small adjustments to each. Warrior 1 has a straight back, not arched with head extending straight up, not looking back. No wonder my lower back felt tweaked before…Warrior 2: lead thigh in line with outside of foot. Sensation of “sitting” in pose with both feet pushing outward is becoming more apparent to me. Petra says there is a stillness and peace beneath each pose. I think I have to get used to the poses before allowing myself to explore other feelings while in them. This is what’s happening to me and it is so amazing: doing yoga more reveals more.
Own Your Yoga
I am physically strong. Some poses I just knock out of the park. (Or so it feels!) Others, I teeter totter like a 12-month old baby taking his first steps. As I make myself more comfortable in each pose (thru practice), the more I relax and have more capacity to metaphorically look around and take things in. I remember learning downhill skiing as a young boy in morning ski school, awkwardly moving my skis (they were planks back then) into snowplow and out. Too much speed and I sat back and looked for the nearest soft pine to grab on. One morning at the end of Christmas vacation, there was a moment when I finally relaxed just enough to put my weight on the downhill ski shifting my weight going with the turn instead of madly struggling to fight against gravity, the hill and certain death. Same with yoga so many years later: there is a flow and relaxed way I can do each pose without straining beyond my comfort zone.
My “zone” is entirely up to me! What others do is no concern of mine. The minute I peek at someone else, I lose my balance, my breath and my peace! In that delicious inner space where I lose my mind, I float, smile and find a solace so deep and assuring my heart overflows. Sounds soooo melodramatic I know, but I tell you the truth! In my zone, I do twists and move my gaze from my focal point on the floor to one on the ceiling without losing balance. You can do it too. Check out: www.innerstrength-yoga.com. (No, I am not a part owner and no, I get no kick backs or free classes for this shamless plug.)
Each Day is New so Be Open To the Possibilities
When in tree pose standing on one foot with hands in the air, some days I fall out a lot and some days I am steady. It is fine to fall out as it provides an opportunity to go back in. It took me a while to manage that attitude shift. Still get frustrated! The purpose of all the poses is to experience them that day, not to assume the perfect posture. This requires what Petra and other great teachers encourage: to have a “playful mind.” This is a mind that observes without judging.
The Power of a Smile
When I walk down the street and smile to others, it creates amazing energy change. When I see a somber, stern looking face coming and smile at them from my heart, they light up so much I barely recognize them! I have found that smiling is a great tool to create pose stability and inner stillness.
