Category: Practice Guidance

None of us want to turn a blind eye or deaf ear to the voice of the protest. The national conversation happening now requires us to listen carefully, without bias or a pre-set agenda. This is something we do in our asana practice every time we come to class or get on our mats to practice.

The sequence in this post is not very demanding. It directs us to repeat well-known poses but approach them from different viewpoints with each repetition.  Every asana is an intricate puzzle to solve, and many points of view are needed to gain clarity.  Within the architecture of any asana we can place our mind in a particular location, and then ask the movement of the breath to mediate the discussion regarding our internal acceptance or resistance.  It’s best to develop this more sophisticated approach when doing less advanced poses.  When we do advance poses that are difficult for us, we are rank beginners. When we refine the poses we know best we become more mature practitioners.

Continue reading “Practice Listening to Different Views”

“Fear and fatigue block the mind. Face both, then courage and confidence flows into you” B.K.S. Iyengar

“When compassion, or warmheartedness, arises in us, and our focus shifts away from our own narrow self-interest, it is as if we open an inner door. It reduces fear, boosts confidence, and brings us inner strength.” The 14th Dalai Lama

Backbending asanas (Purva Pratana Sthiti) involve coordinating the movements of the spine to arch the back and lift, broaden, and open the chest area. This category of asanas helps build courage, alleviate depression, and overcome fear. They greatly benefit the mind by making it more resilient, humble, and alert. Although there are always uncertainties in life, we’re now confronting it head-on (whether we like it or not). This is definitely a scary concept for most of us. Although fear can be beneficial (like fear of touching a downed power line!), it can also be blinding and inhibit personal growth. Sometimes we need to literally and figuratively open our hearts to see if our fear is helping or hurting. Now is the time to be courageous so we can support and help those who need it most.

Continue reading “Becca’s Opening Your Heart Into the Unknown”

Our past weeks of withdrawal have caused a lot of strain.  Often holding back does cause strain. Like holding the dog leash when your pet really needs to run. This forced containment has caused us to look inward. That is one of our practice techniques!  We place our attention inward towards a specific area and look for the details of relief, growth and ultimately stabilization with ease.

Now a hint of possible expansion in our community is beginning to emerge. How will we evolve going forward?  How can we balance the effort of contraction and expansion to get to that essential “point zero”, or controlled effort that evolves towards ease?

Many poses feel like we should develop them by contracting to go deeper into the architecture of the pose.  Other poses feel like we need to expand greatly and extend our reach! Twists are usually a bit of both. This post’s sequence is comprised of mostly twists, and all about opening up the abdomen to new space or withdrawing it inward for more contained strength.  Guruji spoke often spoke of yoga practice as both a personal evolution and involution.

Continue reading “Beginning to Emerge”