You may also find the achievements and
progression decrease as you learn to just be in the asana and it is
here, as the effort decreases that you find the joy. When
speaking of balance, their are many factors to take into consideration.
You first must have an awareness of gravity, as well as a sense of the
direction of movement. This awareness must be maintained thru out each
and every action. It is here that you will find and maintain your
center of gravity. If you overstretch in one direction your center of
gravity changes and you must balance your direction of movement to
maintain your center of gravity. This
is why it is important in your practice not to collapse or prop
yourself through the asana but to yield equally and in all directions.
We all walk into a class with a different story, different developed
memories and even an intelligence residing with in our muscles as to how
to move or be. It is so important to take time in each asana, time to
reflect on the extension, the alignment and connect with your center of
gravity as well as the full body awareness of sensation. If
you move into and out of the asanas to quickly you miss this very
important element of your practice and continue to build on bad habits.
You may find that you habitually practice Ahimsa, but maybe only on one
side, striving to hard to go as far, hold as long stretch as deep. It
is a practice to even out these sides, but it does not guarantee that
physically you will ever be able to do so. Injuries
as a yoga teacher are at best an inconvenience and horribly frustrating
when they come during your practice. I have not ever had to come back
to my practice from an injury as debilitating as a broken tibia.
Cultivating patience with myself, with my body and with my practice are
first and foremost. Sharing the lessons with you are going to be a
gift. I have had
several injuries in the years that I have been practicing yoga. One
that I often hear the echos of is a torn hamstring, on as it would be,
the same leg as I have broken. I learned thru my own practice using a
tennis ball or racquetball and placing it in the belly of the muscle as I
worked on seated forward folds brought me some relief. While I was
healing from this injury I was subbing at a studio and decided to stay
and take the class following mine. Fortunately they had some balls and
as the instructor had us on the floor to do some seated forward folds I
asked her if she would mind passing me a ball, (they were seated next to
her). Would you believe this teacher complained to the owner that I
was disruptive to her class! I share this with you only to say that if
you are recovering from an injury do what is best for you, not what is
best for the instructor. They are they only to guide you to have your
own experience, and if you feel the need to use a prop, use it. The injury by the way, came when I was a new teacher trying to push myself beyond my edge. The instructor was teaching an advanced pose I had never done and I did not take the time to listening, rather was focusing on the end point. Another
injury from my practice came from an aggressive and over extension
of my neck in sarvangasana. I was convinced that advancing in the
pose meant no blankets, and body horizontal to the floor. I was
checking on my alignment, connecting with my center of gravity, and
reflecting on the extension, but I was ignoring the shooting pain in my
arm until the echos of my practice resulted in a bulging disc. Now I no
longer practice sarvangasana, but find relief in headstand, which by
all accounts is contraindicated for a disc bulge. The wisdom of the
body, we are responsible for our healing as well as for our injury in
our yoga practice. The
effort used in asanas as beginners is often greater, but as you advance
you find greater ease in the asana as the physical effort decreases.
You may also find the achievements and progression decrease as you
learn to just be in the asana and it is here, as the effort decreases
that you find the joy. I
have had some really great teachers that have shared amazing lessons
that I am able to pass on, and then there are those teachers that have
just taught me lessons. Both are responsible for my continued growth as
a teacher. | |
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Categoriesasanabalance breath chakra injury karma, meditation patience perception practice touch yoga yoga alliance yoga, accountability |
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