You know what you shouldn’t eat before a yoga class? A peanut butter milkshake. Trust me. I’ve done the research. The forward folds, the twists, the BURPS… Never again.
If you avoid yoga because you’re injured or sore or have chronic pain, I’m here to tell you that is why yoga exists. Yoga exists to give you some sense of ease. Yoga doesn’t mean you must complete 6 sun salutations and 14 chaturangas. It is not quantifiable. Yoga is breathing, listening to your body, and movement. That’s it.
Yoga is a repetitive practice. Days flow into years, years into decades. One of the major practices of yoga is “showing up.” Simply showing up, day after day, week after week, like brushing your teeth and washing your hair, no matter your feelings, no matter the weather, just show up.
I have heard countless times, “I wish I were disciplined enough to practice at home.” To which I reply, “unroll your yoga mat, start there.” REALLY! Place your mat in view and intentionally create space for practice to be a possibility.
The sixth limb of yoga, dharana, can be interpreted as concentration or single pointed focus. The practice of dharana is a gentle approach to meditation. While sitting in one place, and focusing on one thing, you can soften into an expansive awareness.
The setting was this: a 1930s log cabin with 30 foot ceilings overlooking an enormous stone fireplace, overstuffed plush furniture and bright handmade tapestries, an abundance of trees that rained down autumn leaves with every breath, and the constant whisper of rain.
Our bodies communicate with us all the time. They tell us when to put on a sweater, when to sit down, that we itch. They tell us when we’re full, when we need love, when we want to leave the party. The problem is this: as candid as our bodies are with us, they are nothing compared to how good our minds are at avoidance and escape.
The Niyamas are yoga practices that bring us in alignment with our highest selves. They are guidelines, along with the Yamas on the Eight-Fold path of yoga, that show us the way to experience our humanity as spiritual beings.
Let’s clear something up: your core is not your “abs.” Just as the core of an apple is the center of the fruit, your core is the center of your being, the place from which you move. Building core strength involves not only your abdominal muscles but also your side and back body as well.
What do you do when suddenly your yoga practice becomes repetitive, uninteresting, or dull? Every once in a while, after classes upon classes of the same movements, the same transitions, and the same cues, my body demands, “where is the learning?” and “give me something different!”
Humans have a tendency to overcomplicate things, and we’ve definitely overcomplicated meditation. Needing the perfect meditation spot, the perfect meditation cushion, the perfect meditation chime has gotten in the way of meditation.
