Thinking about asanas

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Thinking about asanas

Reflecting on asanas means deepening your understanding of the postures.

No asana stands alone and isolated.

First of all, there are always different ways to move into an asana (vinyasa). Some transitions are easy, some are difficult. Some approaches to an asana are so difficult that the asana is not possible. I'm thinking of the bridge. Pushing into the pose from the floor is much easier than going into it from a standing position.

There are variations for every pose. It has become increasingly important for me to know easier and more difficult variations. Sometimes, when nothing works, I practise the easier variations. On ambitious days, I try more difficult variations.

It makes sense to know a counter position for every position. You can also be creative here. I often find paschimottanasana after urdhva dhanurasana too intense. The back hurts. However, if I perform lighter counter movements beforehand, paschimottanasana also becomes possible. An easier counter pose for me after intense backbends is to lie on my back and bring my knees towards my chest. Light circles massage the lower back. The pose is very relaxing.

Switching from intensive backbends to intensive forward bends is challenging. You can make the transitions smoother.

It makes sense to analyze a pose. Is it a backbend, a forward bend, a twist, a balance pose or an inversion pose? Maybe it's a combination? Where do you stretch? Where is strength needed? Once you know this, you can do specific exercises.

For backbends, you can stretch the shoulders in isolation, then the hip flexors. By repeatedly pushing yourself into the bridge, for example, you strengthen your arms.

Thinking about asanas expands the possibilities. It becomes easier to come up with your own sequences. This is especially important if you want to learn new poses.

Practicing variations sharpens your mindfulness.

It allows you to adapt the practice to your own needs and abilities.

Individualizing your yoga practice is only possible at home. In yoga classes, you have to engage with the teacher. Even in Ashtanga, in Mysore classes where everyone practises for themselves, sequences and asanas must be strictly adhered to. I always ask myself why yoga teachers are not more flexible? Aren't the asana exercises about flexibility?

Reflections

It’s the end of October, time to reflect on my practice.

I see strength and weaknesses:

• What causes a setback always are the breaks for a week or so. I might have reasons for focusing on something else. Not every reason is an excuse. Nevertheless it would be much better to keep practicing on a daily basis. It’s always better to have a short practice than none at all.

• It’s important to imply what I consider as useful. It’s filming. I don’t know why I avoid it. I don’t need to publish it. It’s only for me. In addition it would be very good to hold asanas longer than only 5 breaths.

• I often omit the last asana. It’s so important to relax at the end. Today I lied in savasana. I felt like in paradise.

There are a lot of things that are great:

• I have established a home practice. I’m able to practice two hours, that is I have a rather concentrated practice. Practicing at home allows me to adjust the practice to my needs.

• The time of my practice is perfect. I practice before breakfast on an empty stomach. The mornings are perfect. I’ve tested everything else as well.

• I might take breaks, but I always return to the mat.

• I never forget to appreciate that I’m able to practice. Every session ends with a silent yet intensive ‘THANK YOU’.

Having listed this I’ve also created a plan for November:

• Filming and holding some asanas for a minute or longer would be fantastic.

• I won’t omit savasana.

• A month without a break would be perfect.

Stay healthy.

Eliminating obstacles

Every morning I practice again. I miss taken pictures. This seems too distracting right now as I’m enjoying an uninterrupted practice. My legs are slightly overstretched. Nothing really bad.

The course ‘becoming minimalist’ keeps me busy. It’s so important to let go of all this excess. Several hours every day I work on having less. It’s exhausting. Yet having all the stuff was even more exhausting.

Yesterday I counted the things in a cupboard. I found 182 items after having decluttered the space.. I want to halve it. I mean in one cupboard 182 items. When I buy a cleaning product I obviously buy several just in case. I don’t want to experience a lack. Obviously. All the cooking magazines don’t make a good chef out of me. I found my own cooking style and my meals are delicious. Most of the time I prepare meals without a recipe. I could go on and on…….

I practice mainly second Ashtanga series. I do what I can. I focus on back bending. I repeat the asanas, try to stay longer and enjoy what is possible. Nothing can be forced.

Keep practicing.

Stay curious.

Don’t avoid the difficulties.

This is what I say to myself.

Recharging the batteries

Recharging the batteries.

Finding balance.

Changing perspective.

Staying healthy.

Listening to the stillness.

Breathing, just breathing.

Focus.

Searching boundaries.

Being silent.

All this I experience when I practice yoga. Sometimes the practice is intensive, sometimes I feel weak and stiff. The practice is never boring, always inspiring.

Everybody needs something to refresh, to center again. There are many possibilities. For me it’s yoga.

Another day off

A funeral, parties, lovely dinners with my beloved one, gatherings with coffee, waffles and strawberries alter with daily life that is filled with healthy rituals.

Both life styles often don’t fit together even though I try to blend them.

Today I hang forward for 5 minutes. My hamstrings liked it….At least this, I thought.

I crawled up the wall with my feet to do a handstand. Did I get stronger already? I was less scary with the green soft grass under my hands than the last times. To walk the hands closer to the wall is a skill. It’s not only strength that helps to walk the hands closer to the wall while the feet lean against the wall. It helps to shift the body weight from one hand to the other. I didn’t fall the last times, so it was very likely that today I wouldn’t fall either. So it was. I got confidence and was less scary.

I don’t want to miss life due to my yoga practice. To live the life of a hermit is not for me. Sometimes I have to find a compromise.

Tomorrow it should be possible to practice primary despite the temperature. It’s fresh here. My idea of summer looks differently. There is room, there is time, I plan primary tomorrow.

We all have to face life with creativity and flexibility.

Every moment is precious.

I cook, I clean, I read

Corona Times are still not over. In the middle of a ‘tragedy’ it’s difficult to judge what’s happening and what are the best practices to stay healthy and alive. Was the lock down a panic reaction? We will never know. We personally stayed at home. I started cooking on a daily basis. We never lived so healthy.

After a break of several days I stepped on the mat again this morning before breakfast. My attitude: no ambition, just breathe and move to the rhythm of the breath. I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

Sometimes breaks happen. I trust my body more and more. Time to rest might be good from time to time.

Ninety minutes I practiced. There is still time to cook, to clean and to read.

What are you doing all day long?

What are you doing all day long?

This was a good question.

I try to answer this question for myself so often. Sometimes I find an answer, sometimes not.

Time runs through my fingers.

So often I think: No, impossible It’s already 5 pm. I don’t believe it, but looking a second time at my phone doesn’t change the result. BTW, has anybody still a watch? It seems so old-fashioned for me. Either people use a fitness tracker or a phone to check the time. Time can be measured in steps.

We all have 24 hours. Not a single person on this planet has more time on a daily basis. Our life time varies. Some of us become old, some die young. To be on this globe for 100 years is the fate of some of us. Considering the daily basis we all have 24 hours. We all have to sleep. How much sleep we need varies. We all must eat as well. Substracting all these activities there is still a sufficient amount of time for everybody.

What am I doing all day long?

This question arises at night when I check my calendar and when I plan the next day. Many activities are routines. I also look back. What was yesterday? There are always things undone. I tend to plan too much.

• I practice yoga and it’s time intensive (2 hours).

• Like most people I have to do chores and I cook every day (2 hours minimum).

• I read, I contact friends, I blog, I write (2 hours)

• I nap and we walk around to stay fit (1 hour 30 minutes)

• I have not yet mentioned that I like to take photos on a daily basis.

I could go on. It is as if nothing is done. Most activities don’t leave something that remains. Perhaps this is it what creates the feeling that nothing gets done, that time runs through my fingers. I practice, the next day I feel stiff. I clean an area in the flat and soon dust clouds are there again.

Being organized and discarding things is an ongoing topic in my life. Having less things and being organized creates time. Time is luxury. It’s limited. How we spend the time will be one day our memories.

To have too many things is felt as problematic. To have not the tools that we need is experienced as an issue as well.

Too much or too less of anything takes away energy.

Setting priorities helps to create a satisfying day. What is important on a daily basis changes. Yet some activities give structure, they have to be done.

One of my best tips for myself is: Get up early, that is 5 am. When I have my breakfast at 9 am, I have the feeling that the most important activity is already done.

Feel free to share your tips. How do you make the most out of your time?

Document and measure your practice.

The first step of anything someone wants to learn is to find out about the current ability. From there the student can move on. An analysis at first allows to create a plan. The next steps can be defined.

Sometimes the analysis can take rather long. If someone wants to have better eating habits the first step is to find out how someone is eating and what a person is eating. The more data one collects the more useful. This might last a week. Everything shall be documented. The first mistake often happens during this first documentation. Soon scientists found out that people didn’t write down every ‘tiny’ snack, not knowing that these snacks have often the most calories and sugar. An improvement was to take pictures of anything someone ate. This is a faster and a better method to get to true data.

If someone wants to learn English or any other language, usually she has to pass a test so that the school can find out the current level of the student. This is important to chose a class that fits.

It’s the same with yoga. To document the practice and to measure the progress is a huge support.

I use my multi timer to start my practice. After 2 hours the timer stops with a sound. If I practice shorter I can switch off the timer. The App creates a journal of my practices. It allows me to check how often I practiced and how long. If I practiced only once a week I couldn’t expect miracles. Rather the opposite. When I see that I practice 6 times a week I give myself an opportunity to grow. What was a disciplined behavior first becomes a habit over time. It’s motivating to see last accomplishments.

On one of the walls here I draw lines. It helps to see how deep I bent backwards when exercising kapotasana i.e. I always want to reach the last line. It gives me an orientation of what was possible already. I’m looking forward to draw the next line.

Without these orientation I’d feel lost.

Documentations help to adjust a plan. It helps to see these little accomplishments, that deserve to be celebrated.

This week I practiced already twice. Only four further practices are planned. This seems doable. I’m looking forward to my morning practice.

These are the advantages of a home practice. Not everybody can use a timer in a class. To draw lines on a wall is impossible in a yoga school.

Documenting and measuring are part of a wise strategy:

1. step: What is the status quo.

2. step: Defining a goal.

3. step: Creating many tiny steps how to get there.

4. step: Documenting the practice.

5. step. Planning the next reflection and adjusting the plan.

To give life a structure helps to get things done. Time doesn’t fade away without contents.

A day off

Yesterday was Saturday. This is usually a day off from yoga for those who practice Ashtanga Yoga. In the morning I thought I could do a Sivananda series for an hour. I’m glad that I didn’t do it. The body needs a day off. The mind, too. Today is Sunday morning and my yoga week begins. I feel fresh and motivated. I’m well-rested, because I didn’t practice. The body had time to integrate the stretches and strength training of the last week. I’ll have an intensive week before me. This cut on Saturdays helps to structure the week. It gives intensity.

I remember times when I had difficulties to begin with yoga or another task.

I remember times when I had difficulties to stop with a task or activity.

Conscious beginning rituals and conscious ending rituals are helpful to organize the days and weeks, even years. I know days on which I started cleaning and didn’t stop anymore. In the evening, when I reflected on my day I only cleaned. This was not really satisfying. I know days on which I put on my yoga clothes and in the evening I still was in my yoga clothes. The yoga practice was watered. It lacked intensity. My practice got distracted by taking pictures, checking the Internet. It lacked focus and concentration. At the end of a day I couldn’t say anymore where the time went and what I’ve done.

Today I start and finish activities. Theoretically I could practice 2 or three times a day like my pranayama teacher in India. But then every session would have a beginning an end end and a middle part.

Six yoga practices in a row are doable. A break feels even deserved. I use this time off for reflection. What was good and why? What do I like to change? These are questions I ask myself. It allows me to create a plan for the coming week. It’s rather that I observe what happened and less judging.

For me the day off is also necessary to do all the things that I postpone during the week. Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen. As a yogini I’m also a cook. It’s not possible to eat out because of Corona. The restaurants are closed. I learned that a lot of people gain a lot of weight, because they order pizza, pasta and burger. We lost weight, because I prepare delicious vegetable meals. I dare to say: Only self-cooked meals are healthy meals. Eating healthy is part of a yogic life style.

My ambitious mind whispers on Saturdays: Come on, practice. Only one hour. Take it easy, but practice..

My reasonable mind knows that breaks are as important as the daily practice during the week.

Halleluja, it’s Sunday. Back bending is my focus today. I’m looking forward to an intensive week that will end with a day off.

What is a balanced practice?

For months I was no more interested in information about the SI joint. I had enough from all the voices of experts. I saw enough exercises that back pain patients should do. I consider myself healed, at least 95 %. A few days back I googled ‘SI joint’ again and stumbled across a YouTube video produced by a sports therapeut. His patients, who suffer from back pain, caused by a malfunctioning of the SI joint, often do sedentary work. They bow forward 8 hours a day. The muscles get weak, the skeleton deforms. Pain is the language of the body. It tells that something goes wrong.

We can have a life style that damages the body. We can also exercise in a way that deforms our bodies in the long run.

I’m sure that I did too much forward bending asanas in the last decade. Mainly forward bending asanas was my daily bread for too long. Secretly and at home I started back bending asanas. I started the second series. Then I found a teacher who asked me: What can I do for you? Me: I want to learn the second Ashtanga yoga series. And I learned it. After years I changed the yoga school. I had my reasons. I was asked again to do primary only. Yes, these forward bending asanas got better, much better. I learned to concentrate for 2 and a half hours. My practice lasted so long. Whyever it happened that I injured myself, it is my own responsibility. it took me a long time till I could use this injury as a learning opportunity.

P. Jois pushed his students. He wanted to teach as much as possible. Within a couple of months the students learned primary and second series. It was more or less taught as one series.

These days authorized teacher want to see a perfect performance of every single asana. Variations are not allowed. Only when one pose is mastered the next pose is taught. Didactic is the weak point at Ashtanga Yoga. The situation today is totally different than a decade ago. Too many students want to learn Ashtanga yoga. To have one system for everybody makes it easier to teach. The individuality of a yogini is ignored. This is the sacrifice.

These days I strive for a balanced practice.

One day I focus on forward bending asanas. The other day I focus on back bending asanas.

I approach every day with a different attitude. Sometimes I feel that I can give 120%. On other days I’m glad that I practice. This is accepted as it is.

I also want to balance strength and flexibility training.

I strive for training the right side of the body and the left side of the body evenly. Usually when doing padmasana (lotus pose) one shall take ‘right leg first’. I alter legs these days. For 2 years I followed the rule ‘right leg first’ with the consequence that my body got out of balance. It was even visible. Lotus pose with the left leg first became difficult.

I also alter the legs when I cross the legs before jumping into another asana.

The exercises of the sports therapist that I mentioned above were more or less back bending positions to readjust the body.

An unbalanced practice has the potential to deform the skeleton.

Wrong shoes can do the same. I wear shoes that have no heels. This is good for my feet and for the entire body. Walking is so much more natural. Find good shoes. This is unpaid advertising. I love ‘allbirds’. I’ve never had so comfortable shoes.

Another story:

Yesterday I saw an interview with a runner. She trained for the Olympic Games. Suddenly she had back pain. The sciatica nerv was sore. Even at night she had unbearable back pain. She was lucky and found a doctor who made a correct diagnosis. She had to stop exercising. Luckily she healed. She started doing yoga and according to her own words, she learned that it makes no sense to ignore body pain. It’s not useful to push through everything. Sometimes the body needs to rest in order to heal.

The runner approached her injury with an open mind. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been open for yoga. The same advice is good for yogini. I learned a lot from gymnastics and those people who do strength training, calisthenics, you name it. We can learn from each other. This can also mean to adjust what we used to do for decades.

In the last year I went to the Sivananda yoga school:

The classes are very balanced. It starts with pranayama. But also the asanas sequence is balanced. Within a yoga class that lasts 90 minutes inversions, forward bending asanas, back bending asanas, balancing asanas, twists, standing asanas are exercised They offer variations for every sequence. Asanas are held longer for those who are more experienced and shorter for beginner. The class has a structure, but at the same time it has a lot of flexibility.

It’s surely not necessary to do all sorts of asanas on one day. But within a week all sorts of asanas should be exercised to have a balanced practice. To be hold back on the first Ashtanga Yoga series can deform a balanced body.

My yoga homeland is Ashtanga Yoga. It fits to my personality. I love to be challenged. I love the dynamic. Yet I think one must approach it non-dogmatic and smart.

On Fridays Ashtanga yoga practitioners do primary. It’s the last practice of this week. Last week was very intensive. I’m glad to have a day off from Ashtanga Yoga tomorrow.

Relaxed at home

This was a very calm Corona birthday. The party got cancelled a few weeks back already. Much less had to be organized. My E and I celebrated together. We got food delivered, which was delicious. We lacked nothing. I enjoyed all the friends who contacted me via fb, FaceTime, Email, WhatsApp.

I had time for yoga. Daily life is very beautiful.

It is raining. It’s good for the plants and the fields and the nature in general. As usual I’ll go to bed early. This makes it easier to get up early. Tomorrow primary is on the schedule.

Too experienced to risk an injury

There is another yoga challenge by @cyogalife on Instagram. The April challenge is called #BackOnTrack. Carmen is a very advanced yogini. She practices yoga every day for 2 hours minimum. She is a teacher. Yoga is her life. It’s a very good idea to offer a challenge that speaks also to the advanced yoginis. I like challenges that deserve the name. She gives useful explanations. There are also alternate asanas that are easier to approach.

Nevertheless I know my body and its possibilities. Maybe that sometimes more is possible than I think, but often my insights meet reality. I prefer a slow approach to the asanas I want to learn. The asana yesterday was a back bending asana. Here we go. When I tried to bend the stretched leg, my muscles cramped. This is not a nice feeling. I found a back bending asana that was possible for me. Even the easier asana was not possible for me. These challenges are made to explore new positions, new approaches. It’s not about performing everything as it’s proposed. Every practice is about finding the limits of a given day. One can push oneself, but never too much.

Injuries are setbacks.

It’s getting warmer here in Germany. I get up early as I don’t want to miss the sun rise. Best time for a yoga practice is the early morning. I got used again to practice before breakfast. I don’t feel hungry at all. When I start with the sun salutations, I focus on my breath. Every day is a good day when I practiced.

Injuries happen easier after a break. A daily practice helps to avoid injuries. This is just a reminder.

Being overambitious can be a danger, too. Yoginis don’t lose their cool. 😎 Nothing must be proved. The journey itself is the fun.

After my so deserved breakfast I lied on my bed again and slept. At once.

No asana is isolated

No asana is isolated.

• To get into and out of an asana belongs to an asana as well. There are often different possibilities how to get into an asana. Sometimes this makes a huge difference. How to get out of an asana belongs to an asana as well. The Ashtanga yoga practitioners connect the different asanas with a rather dynamic movement. Other styles recommend to rest between asanas. Yesterday I attended a Sivananda class. We were asked to lie on our back to relax after having performed a couple of similar asanas. The difference is huge. It can make a practice exhausting or relaxing.

• Most asanas have easier versions and more advanced versions.

• Many asanas allow variations.

• After every asana should follow a less even intensive counterpose. After twisting to the right side one twists to the left side. After inversions baby pose is recommended. Forward bending asanas are balanced via a soft back bending asana and the other way round.

If one reflects on these possibilities, the understanding of a yoga practice deepens. First stands the analysis: Is the asana a twist, a forward bending asana, a balancing asana or is it a combination of balancing and twist and so on? Once the asana is analyzed one can vary it.

• Injuries might force us to work around an asana and to adjust it to our needs.

• In order to approach a challenging asana it can be useful to exercise an easier version and to get step by step closer to the original version.

• We have all different strength. If twists are easier, why not practicing more advanced twists?

• To vary asanas keeps the mind attentive.

A simple way to challenge oneself is t hold an asana longer.

Repetitions often allow to go deeper in a pose when performing an asana the second or third time. Often the second and third time the asana seems to be easier.

Repetitions and holding asanas up to one minutes are effective learning methods.

These reflections finally allow us to create a practice that fits to our personal needs.

For me Ashtanga yoga gives me a perfect skeleton of an intensive yoga practice. After more than a decade of practicing this yoga style some asanas of even primary are not as I wish they were. I work on these asanas more intensively now instead of trying them, holding them for 5 breaths and then moving on to the next asana. This method was obviously not that effective.

Picture: It shows arch matsyendrasana. In Ashtanga yoga on arm is behind the back. If you don’t have very long arms it’s very likely that you don’t reach the thigh with your hand. The arm is then more or less in the air. If the arm is posed on the floor it can support the twist (see first picture). Tiny changes can make a huge difference.

Only one more week

Only 6 more days and a new decade begins. We have exciting times. I’m sure a lot will change again within the next 10 years. It’s important to have rituals or practices that anchor us.

For me my yoga practice is my lynchpin. It gives me a lot. It calms the mind. It keeps the body strong and flexible. It supports me in staying healthy. It’s a guide through life. A yoga practice betters every day.

There are so many fancy asanas to learn. I balance my ambition with attention towards my body. Sometimes a step back is better than ignoring signs of exhaustion of the body. Every day is different. Sometimes limits seem to be blown away. Sometimes almost nothing seems possible.

To exercise observing what is, is a technique that one can apply, too. It’s easy to judge. It’s a thinking habit that we exercise all the time. What do I like? What do I not like? What is good? What is bad? We know answers almost at once. This is fine. Yet one can also exercise another skill: observing. It broadens the possibility of the mind. It’s sort of flexibility of the mind.

Even our Madonna came to the conclusion that her body needs a break due to an injury. Not to listen to the body could make everything worse. When Madonna uses the word pain on Instagram, I know that she means pain. Hopefully she’ll feel better soon. Those who love to move, miss it a lot, when it’s not possible to move or to work out.

I could practice today. The thoughts: Every day is better with a yoga practice. It gives energy. It’s love that I give myself.

Back to elaborated routines

I love to travel. It’s always inspiring to observe how other people live. In South Africa is summer time, so this trip to this most beautiful country made the winter shorter. I also don’t need the hectic that I experience here before Christmas. Everybody seems to be downtown to shop. Often discounts are offered when you buy even more stuff in another departments. To sum it up: I had very happy days in Cape Town. The sun was shining. The wind was blowing. The people were friendly.

This time I keep practicing, I thought. A few times I practiced, but most days I didn’t. Hotel rooms are often too small. I could have put my mat in the tiny corridor. On the right side would have been the bathroom. I was conscious that this was the entrance, nobody puts off the shoes there. I was not invited to practice. It tells me that it’s important to have a clean place. To take care of the environment and to keep it clean and simple is important.

I’m back since yesterday and I can reestablish my elaborated routines. I get up at a decent hour, that is 6am or 7am and prepare a cup of coffee for myself. I sip my coffee while writing my journal. After a while I feel awake. In the meantime my dear E is up, too and we have breakfast together. Usually I have some fruit and soy yoghurt, 2 or 3 nuts, oat flakes and a tiny spoon crushed flaxseed. I don’t practice at once after breakfast, but as it is a tiny breakfast I feel ready to bend and twist.

It’s not the early morning when I step on my mat, but it’s still before lunch time.

After every break I usually overstretch my hamstrings. Back bending feels nightmarish. I curse. I regret not having practiced more often. I try to take it easy. The breath is important, I tell myself, not the fancy asanas. But I like the fancy asanas. Next time I’ll practice more often I promise myself. Will I?

What counts is NOW. I’m looking forward to my probably exhausting practice. I’ll curse because I got so weak and stiff. I admire all yoginis who keep practicing also when traveling. For me it’s hard.

I know that I’ll be more than happy after having practiced.

Important is to return to the mat, again and again. So, don’t give up. I won’t give up either. Soon a new decade will begin. This is super motivating. :)

Thank you for the likes on Facebook. Thank you for reading. This is motivating to keep writing.

The formula for progress is a daily practice

It remains a challenge to find time to practice. There are so many distractions, but also duties and other interests. But yoga is my lynchpin. It keeps my mind and body healthy and strong. When the body starts complaining also the other activities become harder or even impossible. That’s only one reason why the yoga practice has priority.

It’s rewarding to practice daily. I realize progress when I practice every day. My new trick to get me on the mat is to start really slowly and easy-going. I’m not like a beamer anymore that is from 0 to 100 kmh within a seconds. I’d compare myself rather with a van. It takes time to start. As soon as I’ve started it’s difficult to stop. To practice alone gives a lot of freedom. The speed, the intensity, the poses it’s all my choice of the day.

When a pose seems difficult on a given day, I practice an easier variation. After that easier variation often the more challenging one is possible. I’m exercising. I work on different poses. It’s not a yoga performance what happens on the mat. I try to find out my limits and I try to stretch those with attention and a loving attitude. Nothing can be forced. Yet it’s necessary to put time and energy and knowledge into the practice.

Today I focused on back bending.

Tomorrow I’ll focus on forward bending asanas.

Every day I do twists and inversions. I think I’ve a balanced practice these days.

Picture: parsva dhanurasana

So spent

So spent!

On Saturday was my day off from yoga. The body needs this.

On Sunday we expected friends. In the morning I felt already dizzy and exhausted. I had blisters on my lips, so my feelings were not only phantasy. Something must have exhausted me. Instead of practicing I cleaned our home. This is so much easier than 90 minutes on the mat. Later we went downtown. My Fitbit watch showed over 20.000 steps in the evening.

Yesterday the same. I felt done, tired, incapable to do anything but walking around and sitting anywhere. I walked downtown to better the general low mood and energy. I ate in a vegan restaurant. That was it.

Today I feel heavy, too, but not that low in energy. It is as if I’m recovering, but from what? I will practice today, but I will take it easy.

Not always one can find a reason for such low energy days. I know I’m not lazy. These day one practice is over and I’m looking forward to the next one. My body obviously needed my available energy for whatever, but not for an exhausting yoga practice.

I sit here, sweating. I’m sipping cold water.

My yoga practice made me sensitive for what’s going on in my body. I trust in the self-healing potential of our bodies. We are no machines. Sometimes we’re strong, sometimes weak.

Patience

Whenever an asana works on stretching body parts it’s good advice to have patience. It takes time to stretch. Being overambitious causes injuries. Injuries are setbacks. Sometimes indicating an asana might be enough. It’s better to establish again a daily yoga routine than to force the body into a position that is too demanding. Especially after a break one must take it easy. It is disappointing to lose asanas. As in life there are ups and downs.

Knowing when to give 90 % and when not is something we learn over time. I wrote 90 % because we cannot give every day 100 %. I even read that sports people get to better results when they take it easy.

To hold an asana longer than only 5 breaths will help to advance relatively fast.

What is worth doing, is worth doing daily.

To practice daily is so much better, than to have long and intensive practices once in a while. This might sound banal, but it’s true.

Setting a timer

These days I set an end to my practice. Instead of planning to practice primary or second series or half primary and second series asanas, I set a timer. Not the contents, but the time limits my practice. This is somehow easier. Within 90 minutes one can do a lot. Quality over quantity! Might be that I extend the length of my practices again one day again, but right now it seems to be a perfect length. Today my mobile phone wrong when I had finished the back bending asanas. Extra exercises and my slow speed cause that 90 minutes is too short for a full second Ashtanga series. Who cares?

I observe what is possible on a given day. No matter if I felt stiff or weak or flexible and strong, I’m more than happy that I can do this practice.

When discomfort is felt, it’s a sigh that one touched limits. It gives the opportunity to go a tiny step further. It gives the opportunity to breathe and to relax to feel good at the rim of the possibility. Pain tolerance changes every day like everything else, too.

To practice 90 minutes without interruption tells me that my concentration is very good. It’s the illness of the time that people cannot focus anymore. The mobile phones distract most people. I even think that it has the potential to weaken our brain.

In yoga we care for our bodies, but we also take care of our mind. Being able to focus is a skill of the mind. It’s worth to exercise it.

A timer is a useful tool.

1. One can limit the practice without getting nervous about the time. Sometimes half an hour might be enough. The timer helps to allow me to focus within that time frame.

2. It’s a good idea to hold asanas longer than 5 breaths. To get an impulse from the outside is more effective than to tell oneself when to stop. Also here a timer can make sense. It’s easier to set a timer for 1 minute than to count 15 breaths.

3. One can also use a timer to focus i.e. 20 minutes on back bending within the 90 minutes.

I have to timer: my mobile phone and another one.

Getting an impulse from outside helps to free the mind from additional tasks. It intensifies the focus.

What else?

It’s carnival here, it’s the last day and it’s really funny to go downtown to see all the masks. We won’t have much time for carnival today. It’s also not really my circus. We don’t drink, we don’t masquerade, it is as if we just landed from another star. I had a highlight already: My yoga practice. Being a yogi is a life style, I experience this again and again.

The spine

The spine has 24 vertebras. They are connected via joints. This is why we can move our body in different directions. The perfect construction of the spine allows this flexibility.

1. We can do inversions. When the head is below the heart we have an inversion pose. It feels as if one can create room.

2. We can bend backwards.

3. The spine allows to move the upper body sidewards.

4. Twists are possible.

5. We can also round the body and bow forward.

This is a lot. Most people don’t move the body in these different directions, even though the body allows to do it. One day the spine is stiff and not so many movements are possible anymore. Having limitations often comes with age, when people didn’t work on staying flexible. Yet this needn’t be the case. We can keep the spine flexible.

I always aim for a balanced practice. I don’t think that primary series of Ashtanga yoga is a balanced practice. 80% of the asanas are forward bending asanas. They aim at making the hip joint more flexible, but mainly in one direction: forward. The spine remains in it’s natural state. I have the feeling that all these forward bending asanas shall prepare the body for the leg behind head poses. I like these advanced asanas, but are they really important? I don’t think so. It’s more important to move the spine in different directions.

I often add a side stretch these days. I hold the twists longer than 5 breaths. I alter primary with second series.

Today I had to motivate myself to start practicing. As soon as I had done the first sun salutations I was concentrated and enjoyed the practice. The three sun salutations B were easier already than yesterday. Nevertheless my heart rate went up and I sweated a lot. After 90 minutes I was exhausted.

I did urdhva dhanurasana. After all these forward bending asanas it was a weak pose. It makes more sense to work on back bending asanas when I practice second series.

Getting stronger, becoming more flexible again is a journey that requires patience. There is no shortcut. It takes time.