Today's 'Ode to Practice' is rest. My brain is currently full of thoughts. They're not just any thoughts, but loud pushy thoughts that keep shoving the other thoughts around and competing to see who can shout the loudest.
It might make sense then that sleep with all this mental noise is difficult. Efforts to sleep on Saturday night earned me about 3 hours of actual sleep and about 6 hours of restless tossing and thinking.
Sunday night is the last day of my practice week; my practice week is shifted over a bit from the norm. Monday is the day I take as a rest day at the moment. Sunday night, I usually join students and friends to practice with the other Ashtanga teacher in town. Sunday night is primary night.
It seems that a soothing quiet primary was needed. There are, I think, good reasons that everyone finishes their practice week with primary no matter how many sequences they practice during the rest of the week. One of those reasons is a need for rest.
Soothed nervous system=soothed body=soothed brain=finally getting a solid nights sleep.
Showing posts with label rest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rest. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, January 3, 2011
A Balance Between Effort and Ease
Ahhhh...
Back to work and to "regular" non-vacation life...but at least for a bit, I'm rested and ready to be here. I had nice, long, relaxed practices over the last week. I also had lots of nice quiet time at home with my husband and dog. I was reminded once again that home is actually my favorite place to be on vacation.
I come from a long line of people obsessed with "staying busy". It's taken some time for me to learn to sit quietly without guilt or anxiety. My husband has been a great teacher here. He has, as long as I've known him, refused to be rushed about anything.
Earlier on in my practice life, I think I considered asana practice itself part of the "stuff to do", an item on the daily list. Lately though, it's been quieter. It's more a source of energy than a drain on it. In some ways I think this is a physical product of just doing the practice. The body is quieter with less complaints and more ease. Muscles have stretched and strengthened allowing the breath to move more smoothly and leaving me with energy instead of lethargy or anxiety. Now that the body is quieter more of the time, I'm more apt to catch the mental chatter before I get drawn so far in that I completely lose awareness.
My work for 2011 and beyond: sthira and sukham in life
keep looking for the quiet, steadiness and ease within all the "busy"ness and activity of life
Back to work and to "regular" non-vacation life...but at least for a bit, I'm rested and ready to be here. I had nice, long, relaxed practices over the last week. I also had lots of nice quiet time at home with my husband and dog. I was reminded once again that home is actually my favorite place to be on vacation.
I come from a long line of people obsessed with "staying busy". It's taken some time for me to learn to sit quietly without guilt or anxiety. My husband has been a great teacher here. He has, as long as I've known him, refused to be rushed about anything.
Earlier on in my practice life, I think I considered asana practice itself part of the "stuff to do", an item on the daily list. Lately though, it's been quieter. It's more a source of energy than a drain on it. In some ways I think this is a physical product of just doing the practice. The body is quieter with less complaints and more ease. Muscles have stretched and strengthened allowing the breath to move more smoothly and leaving me with energy instead of lethargy or anxiety. Now that the body is quieter more of the time, I'm more apt to catch the mental chatter before I get drawn so far in that I completely lose awareness.
My work for 2011 and beyond: sthira and sukham in life
keep looking for the quiet, steadiness and ease within all the "busy"ness and activity of life
Saturday, January 2, 2010
More Thoughts on Balancing Rest and Asana Practice
Almost universally among hatha yoga practices and styles is the time set aside at the end of practice for rest. Ashtanga yoga asana practice is no different. After time for asana, there is time for rest. During rest there is nothing to "do", no goals, just rest. It's time to let the body assimilate all that I have just asked of it.
(...a side note: Some yoga asana styles and some ashtangis refer to this time as savasana or corpse pose. Pattabhi Jois has reportedly said that savasana is actually a pose at the end of 6th series where, rumor has it, you can learn to stop your own heartbeat!...yikes! For that reason, I'll just refer to that resting time at the end of practice as rest)...now back to your regularly scheduled post...
Ashtanga often gets a reputation for attracting "type A" people. Certainly, a regular daily practice that may often last 1 1/2 to 2 hours takes a certain amount of dedication. It is also true that Ashtanga offers physical challenges to meet any level of practitioner. However, one of the biggest challenges that I see myself and students struggle with is the willingness to rest. Many practitioners that I meet find it very difficult to just rest without needing to "do" anything at that moment.
I catch myself working through that same mental tug-of-war on especially busy days. I know how important it is to rest after practice. Giving the body time to assimilate the physical practice is a vital part of receiving the benefits of this practice. All the same, it is easy to feel like the "work" is done when the last pose is finished. It is easy to hop right back up after a breath or two in "rest" and be pulled back into a busy day. Each practice that I cut back on rest pulls me into a little less balance.
The yoga sutras say that yoga asana is a balance between effort and ease. I think this extends to the balance between physical practice and rest after practice. My challenge to myself this year both on the mat and off is to keep working to maintain that balance. When I start leaning a little too hard in the direction of "effort", I will be looking for ways to pull back, always looking for balance...and starting each day with enough rest after asana practice
(...a side note: Some yoga asana styles and some ashtangis refer to this time as savasana or corpse pose. Pattabhi Jois has reportedly said that savasana is actually a pose at the end of 6th series where, rumor has it, you can learn to stop your own heartbeat!...yikes! For that reason, I'll just refer to that resting time at the end of practice as rest)...now back to your regularly scheduled post...
Ashtanga often gets a reputation for attracting "type A" people. Certainly, a regular daily practice that may often last 1 1/2 to 2 hours takes a certain amount of dedication. It is also true that Ashtanga offers physical challenges to meet any level of practitioner. However, one of the biggest challenges that I see myself and students struggle with is the willingness to rest. Many practitioners that I meet find it very difficult to just rest without needing to "do" anything at that moment.
I catch myself working through that same mental tug-of-war on especially busy days. I know how important it is to rest after practice. Giving the body time to assimilate the physical practice is a vital part of receiving the benefits of this practice. All the same, it is easy to feel like the "work" is done when the last pose is finished. It is easy to hop right back up after a breath or two in "rest" and be pulled back into a busy day. Each practice that I cut back on rest pulls me into a little less balance.
The yoga sutras say that yoga asana is a balance between effort and ease. I think this extends to the balance between physical practice and rest after practice. My challenge to myself this year both on the mat and off is to keep working to maintain that balance. When I start leaning a little too hard in the direction of "effort", I will be looking for ways to pull back, always looking for balance...and starting each day with enough rest after asana practice
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