Concentration - a mental skill

Concentration is a skill. We exercise it when we practice yoga. It’s a skill that is useful whatever we do. To read a book requires concentration. To learn anything requires concentration. Even to watch a program on TV requires focus. Many people switch from one channel to the other. It’s often a lock of concentration. Yet switching channels means a story is missed. The spectator gets glimpses of many different stories.

A few years back my morning yoga practices lasted more than 2 hours. Strength was needed to practice so long, but also concentration. To practice so long bettered my ability to focus. The group session helped me. I didn’t lose this skill when I started practicing at home again. I don’t make breaks during my yoga practice at home. I don’t check the mail or my alarm clock. I focus on my practice.

I listen to the sound of the breath.

I gaze at a focus point.

I concentrate on the correct movement.

After two hours I’m exhausted. Not only the body has reached a limit, also the mind.

Being able to concentrate was a motivation for Indian students to practice yoga. In order to study effectively concentration is necessary.

Another advantage of a focused practice is that everything else seems to fade away. No to-do-list exists when I practice. All the issues, self-made or not disappear. Nothing but the sound of the breath, the gazing point, the performance of the asana is important. This is a huge relief.

After a yoga practice the world looks differently.

I set a timer for my yoga practice. I have a time frame within I concentrate on the practice. It’s also useful to create a time frame for other activities. Not to jump form one activity to the other creates a more relaxed life. It helps to reduce our daily stop. One step at a time is a good advice.

Back bending day

Urdhva dhanurasana June 2020

I’m not sure if progress is visible. What has changed is that it’s no more a drama to get into this pose. This and other back bending asanas are just asana I want to exercise. They are no more labeled as extra challenging. I don’t lie on the floor anymore scaring the discomfort that I’ll experience when lifting up. My shoulders got extra treatment during the last weeks. My hips, too. The final goal is it to enjoy the asana. It shall be comfortable one day. I’ve been there already.

Holding the pose for one minute makes sense. I’ll soon adjust the timer. I’ll set it to two minutes. Challenges keep the practice exciting. Two minutes can be very long. When it’s possible to hold this asana for two minutes to hold it for 5 breaths as it’s recommended in Ashtanga Yoga is a piece of cake.

Today I practiced rather late. My rules are simple. I practice before breakfast. After breakfast I have no time anymore. I feel full. The practice feels best with an empty stomach.

Covid-19 changed our behavior. We like to eat at home. Because we gain weight when we eat in restaurants. We want to avoid this. Also today I cooked. Soon we’ll eat the Mango dessert, that I prepared for the late afternoon. What else can I wish for today?

Useful yoga props: timer and wheel

Ashtanga yoga practitioners start the yoga week on Sundays with second series. Back bending is a focus.

How to practice smarter than during the last decade is often my question.

The timer:

One of the answers is that it makes sense to hold the difficult asanas longer than 5 breaths. Especially if an asanas seems difficult, progress might come faster when this asana is held longer. Repetitions are useful, too. It’s not always possible to get from 5 breaths to 1 minute. I breaths 15 times (inhaling and exhaling equals one breath) within a minute when I do nothing. I surely need more breaths when I’m in a challenging asana. It’s easier to wait for the peep of the timer than to count breaths. It’s distracting. To focus on the sound of the breath and to count the breaths are two different challenges.

It’s impossible to hold every asana of one of the Ashtanga yoga series for 1 minute. It’s too time-consuming and perhaps also not good for the body. My plan is to hold one back bending asana 1 minute, one forward bending asana for 1 minute, one twist for one minute. It’s a modest start, but a start.

This sounds easy. One minute is not long, but when in urdhva dhanurasana one minute can feel like an eternity. Today I left the pose before the peep of my timer. Two seconds only and I would have accomplished my goal.

There will come a moment when the discomfort seems to be unbearable. Then the mental task begins. Mantras might help to stay. ‘I can’ is a good mantra. Only 5 more breaths. Again one must learn to understand the messages of the body. Sometimes the pain is a message to get out of the pose if one doesn’t want to risk an injury. The goal is to relax more and more when performing an asana.

I guess it’s what runners told me: There comes a moment runners want to stop, yet when they get over this point, running happens almost from alone.

Another possibility to handle the discomfort is to move a tiny bit out of the pose till it becomes OK to stay.

Sometimes I want to get out of a pose, because I’m bored. This is often the case when I do headstand. Today I used the timer for this pose, too. One minute was doable and also enough. I would have left the pose earlier. The effect wouldn’t have been the same.

The wheel:

To start back bending on a wheel helps to relax. One can focus either on stretching the front of the hips or the upper back. It’s not just hanging over the wheel. I usually engage my legs. It prepares the body for deeper back bending asanas. Setting a timer can be useful, too. When in an asana I lose the feeling for time. The timer gives an orientation. The older a yogini is the longer it might take till the body gives up resistance. When the body feels safe, stretching can happen.

Timer and wheel are my helpers.

The plan for tomorrow:

I set a timer for 90 minutes. That’s how long I practice every day.

I set a timer for one minute when practicing paschimottanasana (forward fold), marichyasana C (twist), urdhva dhanurasana (back bending) and headstand (inversion).

Breaks make lazy.

Every yoga practice motivates me to practice again. Soon.