A great gift in the practice of yoga is its ability to help us learn our deep sensitivities as we move through our lives. Stillness itself can be defined as not moving, yet the mind is forever fluctuating. When we begin practicing yoga, we are practicing to develop the skills to withdraw our senses.
One pointedness or sense withdrawal enables us to become more rooted in a balanced, positive space.
To practice this sense of withdrawal we need to get really uncomfortable and challenge the body physically. Thereby developing useful strengths, effectively creating more movement through flexibility, and then through a conscious rhythmic breath pattern we are able to find a greater ability to “quiet the inner chatter”, enabling us to sit more comfortably with ease, balance and harmony.
These qualities are strengthened through establishing a regular uninterrupted practice.
“Yoga” is most associated with physical postures in our modern world, and in many ways asana has been fully disconnected from the practice that is yoga into exercise. Through integrating physical asana, breath and drishti we are establishing a connection back to yoga itself.
These asanas or postures are used as tools to challenge our psyche, our physical limitations, and teach us to connect with ourselves and our relationship with the environment on a much deeper level.
Through continued practice (discipline) we build the skills needed to push beyond these limits. Committing to showing up for whatever comes each day. Practicing the sequence being taught to us by our teacher to the best of our ability each day. Cultivating a breath that leads us throughout practice, maintaining each drishti (focal point). When we give into breath and drishti, we are guiding the mind to a sense of quiet concentration. We cannot analyze and think about our daily tasks if we are fully submerged in breath and drishti.
Discipline is a learned habit. We need to institute a routine. Successful routines are built by committing to a time, being the same time or as close to it everyday, noticing our sleep habits and making sure we have enough time to rest. The longer we practice the more in tune we will become to how our diet affects our overall being. Effectively leading to a change in our lifestyle habits, implementing certain choices that feed our new found understandings in our mind and body.
The teacher/student relationship is another pillar in setting us up for greater success towards our practice. Choosing a teacher we trust is important in the building of our student foundation, as they see us, and through time get to know us, our personality and how best to approach teaching us individually, they will continue to push us outside our comfortability. For us to continuously show up vulnerable is a tremendous feat, believing in our relationships to not injure us while remaining open is a deep practice of immense trust. With all relationships we have, they are built through time and practice, with us also learning how to be accountable for our own actions at the same time within this structure.
With discipline and routine comes repetition. Repetition establishes a reference point to view and assess our practice in the day to day. A progressive approach to meet our daily commitment. There will be days we feel rested and energetic to fully push our barriers beyond what was, and then there will be days when we may feel dull and heavy. Regardless of the feels, we just do. Becoming aware of our lifestyle choices helps us to also establish balance. The deeper we connect to our daily practice, the more noticeable our actions off the mat, become present on the mat, and vice versa.
Repetition eases us towards perseverance. Perseverance is the continuation of and through all our daily challenges, moving beyond the hurdles and blocks, the can’ts, the easy’s and such. Nothing super easy was ever worth fighting for, and though hard, making it through adversity brings us our greatest lessons, a beautiful wisdom, and compassion through experience.
Perseverance guides us to devotion. Devotion, much bigger than just “doing work”, we begin to approach our practice with love and reverence. This sense of cultivating great love with the practices we do fosters contentment and a deeper sense of harmony, a knowing stability, and a patience free of expectations.
It takes a curious person to try. And One that stays curious enough to continue.
“Yoga is the process of replacing old patterns with new and more appropriate patterns” - Sri T. Krishnamacharya.
Traditional Ashtanga yoga is taught individually. As the student is able to memorize their sequence and complete the posture before, they are given the next to continuously grow and challenge their sense of ego and comfort. Ashtanga yoga is for everyone, no age limits, no prerequisites, just for those that are willing. Guiding us to a balanced, nourished stability in this life.
See you in the shala!
-Jen Knox
“You should not be practicing to have a ‘good’ practice, but instead to keep a steadiness within yourself”
