Yoga Beyond the Poses
- Joy Zazzera
- Jul 5, 2020
- 2 min read
HAVE YOU TRIED TO STUDY YOUR FAVORITE POSE OR MOVEMENT ONLY TO FEEL FRUSTRATION ABOUT “not getting it right”?
A sensible and well structured yoga practice has a starting point, just like anything in life.
As you continuously fine-tune and explore moving in more ways, your practice develops in accordance with your own unique abilities, expanding through both repetition and variety. It is not enough to simply take a step; that step needs to take you in the right direction and be made in the right way FOR YOU. And the best part is... IT DOESN’T HAVE TO “look” A CERTAIN WAY.
One doesn’t begin to practice Side Plank until one can feel both Stirha (strength + effort) and Sukha (steadiness + ease) regularly in Plank pose. What that “looks like” for me, will not “look the same” for you. How that feels for you one day may feel differently on another - dependent upon biological, physiological and other circumstantial influences.
Remember, yoga is about how the poses and movements feel, and not how they look. And if you’re human, some days will feel better than others.
With this in mind.... Fundamental to all of yoga should be construction of a GRADUAL + INTELLIGENT course of practice - being asana (the poses), pranayama (the breath work) or some other aspect of yoga like meditation or acknowledgement, respect, and dedication to the 8 Limb Path. We start our practice where we (ourselves) are and look toward a certain goal. Next we choose the steps that will lead us toward realizing our goal and we practice - then, we gradually bring ourselves back into our everyday life. It is ESSENTIAL to remember that the steps are not taken in the same way by every body.
But no matter what YOUR STEPS looks like, your daily practice does not return you to the exact place you started. THE PRACTICE HAS CHANGED YOU.
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