Two Weeks In

I am two weeks in to my Yoga teacher training. The work is challenging and very stimulating. The learning is experiential and the practical and reflective elements of the program synthesise well with the theoretical and historical.

I have been challenged and grown like no other time in my life. Contributing to this is the daily journalling. It brings opportunities to track and commit to resolutions and reflections to critical moments or challenges. I have learnt a lot about the fuels to my negative reactions at home and work. I am discovering connections within my own mental and emotional world that are astounding. The world around me is changing as a result of my internal world changing. It is exciting and inspiring. So far i have kept up well with my homework and my 5:00am starts for Asana are getting less of a drag. In fact I am sure I would miss one if it were not there for a day.

I have begun to think about how the practice of Yogasana influences so many other aspects of the mind, body and emotional state. It is incredible how interconnected it all is and how powerful the practice of Yoga is in drawing it all together to sing harmoniously.

The Yoga of Work

This week is my second week back from some time off work over Christmas. It was a good break with a whole lot of gardening and plenty of time with my two children. I was able to do some reflecting on how my mind and body have been in the later half of the year, most especially at and during work hours. I was able to make an affirmation about this:

"I do the work I love"

This was a powerful statement and I was drawn to it. It has been interesting to cast my attention at work and how I can practice more mindful work and how the tools and practices of Yoga can make work a happier, less worrisome and intense place to be. With a few small changes to our attitude we can notice the promise of greater things to come for ourselves at work. Work can be frought with battles and threats despite our best attempts to create balanced and healthy workplaces. Many of us regularly manage difficult and sensitive situations through our chosen professions. It can be tiring and saddening if we are not on guard from this limiting view. There is another more productive way to view it all however, and those who are able to engage this gear, are the most blessed. Their work is challenging and rewarding. The challenge of work is an achievable one that fills us with a sense of purpose.

I had forgotten how enjoyable work has always been for me. With just some small changes to the way I react to situations and problems or to how I give priority, I was given a glimpse of something I once had that made me love my work.

I look forward to having this affirmation for a very long time, regardless of the work I'll be doing.

"I do the work I love"

Kid Yoga

I took my first Yoga class this week. I wasn't nervous at all. In fact the participants were easily known to me and they followed my every instruction all the way through.

My son who is 3 and his little Sister 1.8-ish gathered in my studio to draw and watch me make music. They also like playing with the stones that are in my meditation area. I have to teach them both to be respectful but I also remember that it is good for them to learn about them and Ganesha and Buddha. After they had had enough, and singled this with some over the top rough and tumble, I switched the music from King Tubby to something that would grab their attention and called class.

Both followed my lead and stood with hands close at their side. We went through various poses and I called their attention to the breath for the first time. The youngest mostly liked to crawl on her belly but the older one followed through very well. I kept going and we even did some Bastrika and a 3 breath eyes closed meditation. We even threw in an OM and they both said they would come back next time.

It was great fun and it definitely got us onto the same page for the visit Granny and Grandpa's house.

2 Reasons why I Started Yoga and 5 Reasons Why I Keep Doing it

Reasons I started Yoga

(before trying it)

1. Stress: I started yoga because of stress. It was a last resort on a downward spiral that was heading for a disaster. The pressures of work were not great. The pressures of home life were somewhat bad but not overwhelming. All in all, the reaction my body had taken to the outside world was disproportionate to the threat posed. Something had to be done.

(after my first class)

2. Connection to Body: The first thing that struck me about yoga was how it put me in touch with my body. I had practiced buddhist meditation without great rigour for years before that and had experimented to good effect with guided meditation. I was struck and motivated however with the connection that practice gave me to my body and how this was missing from my everyday existence.

Reasons I Keep Doing It

1. Breathing: The deep slow breathing that accompanies the practice and an effect of the practice is one of the major motivators for me to continue with my yoga. There is such a close link between the pace, rhythm and depth of my breathing and the degree to which I am either stressed and frayed or relaxed and in growth. 

2. Inner World: Yoga connects me to my inner world. This effect has emerged steadily since I began practicing in ernest about a year ago. I must be cautious to maintain my meditation practice through this, because the effect can be disruptive and chaotic if I am not careful but on the whole it is a journey I look forward to continuing. 

3. Outer World: Yoga connects me to the outer world. This effect is true both of the natural world and of the human world, where connections start to seem possible that were not possible or visible before.

If you can think of some of your own reasons for either starting yoga or keeping up, please let me know by posting a comment below.

Yoga and Connection

I'm constantly surprised by how the practice of yoga brings about connections that were not previously possible. Connections between people, the connection of a person to their body, our connection to the earth. My wife and I joke at times that when something coincidental happened it was somehow "Yoga". This running joke was present long before either of us had discovered yoga. It was just a thing we said. I believe the practice of Yoga creates connections that were not previously possible, but now they exist, seem as though they have always been present. 

The other day I grew mindful of how the practice of some afternoon Yoga and awareness put me squarely in the moment as I watered some plants out in the garden. As a one time guerrilla gardener, who has since grown far too busy for his own good, this reconnection to a joy, long forgotten, was inspiring. 

When we feel connected to the earth around us, there is no threat, no need for defensive postures of mind or body, the world greets us with abundance and embrace.

OM

OM.......

This evening I introduced 3 OM's at the closing of my practice. This was recommended to me by my teacher alongside my other Sadhana practices. Having not done them for a while outside of class, my voice came through somewhat reserved and weak. This should improve as I keep up the practice. As I uttered the first, my son walked into the lounge where I happened to be practicing. He slowly wondered in and put on my slippers while I finished my second and third OM.
He is familiar with the sound and has previously copied me after attending a Kirtan. As I finished, I reflected with gratitude on the setting I found myself in and for the ability to practice Yoga and share it with my family.

The Practice of Contentment

My teacher asked our class to focus on the Niyama that prescribes Contentment or Santosha. During the last class we were introduced to the Yama of Ahimsa or non-violence. My first thought on hearing this proposal was to consider how the two are linked. Violence in many senses comes from a dissatisfaction or intent to force on another or ourselves what is not natural or right. If we are content in ourselves and accepting of how things are, we are less prone to impatience, forceful or violent behaviour and thoughts.
I believe that I have a lot to learn about this practice. I tend to use discontent a lot in life. It drives change and development and it engages a critical faculty in me that drives certain visions about how the future could be. To some extent it is necessary, however it is a relentless beast that can keep a person striving for more, better, newer, etc.

I will tag further posts on this topic with #santosha to keep track of observations related to it, and try to follow through on the reflections over the coming week.

Why This Blog, Why Now

I started this blog as a way of openly documenting my practice with Yoga. It started as a basic reflection following each practice, however it has grown fairly quickly into a documentary on my Journey with Yoga in practice and in life. 
I have been practicing yoga for 2 1/2 years now and started as a way to manage stress. I quickly realised the further benefits to regular practice, including a connection to my body through movement and asana, confidence, balance, motivation and of course it has brought me alignment with my life's purpose. I hope that by following this blog, people can enjoy the aspects of this journey I chose to share, and be inspired to take up their own spiritual journey.

Settling after Surya Namaskar

This evening I split my practice into two sessions and was able to observe the effects of taking a moment to settle down after a dynamic set of poses like Surya Namaskar.

The practice of Surya Namaskar is well documented to have many health benefits and for my Yoga teachers it is taken seriously as a warmup prior to Asana, Pranyama and Meditation. I read a book documenting the many benefits of the practice which was prescribed as a general wellness tonic that provides the body with a range of benefits in addition to its energising payoff.

This evening I was conscious to ensure that I kept a brief period of time following the practice to settle the body down to a restful and easy state and the close of the practice. This allowed me to observe the pace of the heart slow, the breath ease into a gentle rising and falling, down from the intensity of the practice.

I often skip this crucial phase in the practice and it can leave me overly energised and distracted at the close of practice or make it difficult to settle into the pranyama and meditation.

Settling in to Practice

Keeping the mind and body relaxed relies on us taking time to let the breath return to its natural state regularly. Aside from the regular benefits of our practice, this activity alone ensures that at least once in our day, we change pace to shift out of the fast pace of modern living. The pace and scales of modern life are mind boggling and without slowing down to take stock, we risk this flurry of activity, conflicting commitment and desire overcoming us and prepping us to defend ourselves.

This mornings practice brought my awareness to the need to prepare and settle into the practice by maintaining few minutes of conscious breathing letting the thoughts of the day settle down. What I became aware of this morning was how the mind and the body interact with one another to cause this settling and the way in which the breath guides or is guided by this process.

As you unhook from a thought or agenda item that has been fraying you for most of the day you can feel the tightness of your muscles release. Similarly as the breath gets deeper and longer the body too responds by sinking gently into the ground and dropping the defensive stance that comes about if our day is left to its own device without consciousness.

I like how this writer has put it at the end of this article on the subject of preparing to practice.

Yoga Journalling - Calming the Mind

The past few weeks I have challenged myself to doing 10 Surya Namaskars per day. I have split them into 5 am and 5 pm but I think the effect is similar. The first week I gave up my regular practice to focus on this and I soon felt that this was not ideal and was not gaining the full effect of practicing. I returned to a standard pattern and made sure to include the 5 in the morning with other asana and 5 in the evening. Most days I have done this. Today  my observation was on the calming effects of practicing and it has got me to thinking how important a session at key times of the day could be very helpful for me. This weekend I have really needed to relax and let go of work and having a quiet and undisturbed Yoga session in the afternoon really rested my thoughts. I have also started to think about how my practice develops and how I am getting to not function very well at all if I stop doing Yoga daily.