30 day yoga challenge
i have gone to yoga three days in a row this week, each morning class. (even on my birthday!) the lessons have been interesting; some have been subtle and others not so subtle.
some remind me of mindful breathing even through the difficult poses and exertion. some remind to inhale peace and acceptance and exude confidence and serenity. they all remind me that it's okay to let go. sometimes i struggle to let go, and once i start thinking, "why can't i just LET GO?" i just can't let go. i have to let it happen. you can't "try" to let go; you have to just let it go. i'm still working on that.
how do you get a thing to happen without trying to have it happen? grr. (i know. very peaceful and yogi of me ... to grrr.)
today's lesson was about struggling through difficulty. i looked around to 'compare' what i was doing with the rest of the class. fox-pass number one. you don't need to 'compare" what you are doing.
then i thought, "oh! my leg forward is the wrong leg. i must be backward. why am i backward?" i mean, i listened to her instructions, how could i be backward?" so i switched my forward foot and lunged the other way. fox-pass number two. self doubt and incorrect correction. (technically, we'll count that fox-pass number three as well.)
by the time she had us lean forward and tip into triangle, where you have your legs straight, one in front and one behind, then you tip sideways to touch your shin (or the floor if you are super-duper amazing), well, my incorrect leg was forward which meant i was in what is called REVOLVED triangle. my torso was twisted and i was trying to tip over the wrong leg. i thought, "in a yoga BASICS class? we're doing THIS? even i can't do this! this is hard! why is this so difficult?!" and i struggled, and tried to place my hand correctly on the block for stability (because i can't reach the floor in a regular triangle much less one where my torso is flipped over.
fox-pass four. i didn't stop and think to myself, "is there a reason i am struggling with this ridiculously hard pose in a yoga basics class? perhaps there is something amiss."
she finally comes over, gently taps me on the shoulder and says, "not revolved." "what?" "we're not doing revolved. you are in revolved triangle. your left leg is forward." "oh!!" i says. "i thought i was backward or something." she smiled serenely as i fixed what i was doing and class continued.
i didn't feel stupid or anything. it happens. people get their lefts and rights mixed up all along. but what was goofy was i *knew* something wasn't right and instead of figuring out how to fix it, i kept plowing ahead without stopping to regroup and rethink.
instead of trusting myself and my own body, i looked around me and thought, "oh, i must be doing it wrong," when there is no "wrong." if you do it "wrong" (i.e., on the left side instead of the right) it's really not that big a deal and when the class does the left, you just do the right to even it up.
so. lesson learned, for yoga and other things too. when i'm struggling and i know things are more difficult than they need to be, rethink, regroup. step out, reset, and try again. don't just keep plowing forward and struggling or i could get hurt.
Crosspost from http://dawntreader.dreamwidth.org/2039507.html. There are
comments.
some remind me of mindful breathing even through the difficult poses and exertion. some remind to inhale peace and acceptance and exude confidence and serenity. they all remind me that it's okay to let go. sometimes i struggle to let go, and once i start thinking, "why can't i just LET GO?" i just can't let go. i have to let it happen. you can't "try" to let go; you have to just let it go. i'm still working on that.
how do you get a thing to happen without trying to have it happen? grr. (i know. very peaceful and yogi of me ... to grrr.)
today's lesson was about struggling through difficulty. i looked around to 'compare' what i was doing with the rest of the class. fox-pass number one. you don't need to 'compare" what you are doing.
then i thought, "oh! my leg forward is the wrong leg. i must be backward. why am i backward?" i mean, i listened to her instructions, how could i be backward?" so i switched my forward foot and lunged the other way. fox-pass number two. self doubt and incorrect correction. (technically, we'll count that fox-pass number three as well.)
by the time she had us lean forward and tip into triangle, where you have your legs straight, one in front and one behind, then you tip sideways to touch your shin (or the floor if you are super-duper amazing), well, my incorrect leg was forward which meant i was in what is called REVOLVED triangle. my torso was twisted and i was trying to tip over the wrong leg. i thought, "in a yoga BASICS class? we're doing THIS? even i can't do this! this is hard! why is this so difficult?!" and i struggled, and tried to place my hand correctly on the block for stability (because i can't reach the floor in a regular triangle much less one where my torso is flipped over.
fox-pass four. i didn't stop and think to myself, "is there a reason i am struggling with this ridiculously hard pose in a yoga basics class? perhaps there is something amiss."
she finally comes over, gently taps me on the shoulder and says, "not revolved." "what?" "we're not doing revolved. you are in revolved triangle. your left leg is forward." "oh!!" i says. "i thought i was backward or something." she smiled serenely as i fixed what i was doing and class continued.
i didn't feel stupid or anything. it happens. people get their lefts and rights mixed up all along. but what was goofy was i *knew* something wasn't right and instead of figuring out how to fix it, i kept plowing ahead without stopping to regroup and rethink.
instead of trusting myself and my own body, i looked around me and thought, "oh, i must be doing it wrong," when there is no "wrong." if you do it "wrong" (i.e., on the left side instead of the right) it's really not that big a deal and when the class does the left, you just do the right to even it up.
so. lesson learned, for yoga and other things too. when i'm struggling and i know things are more difficult than they need to be, rethink, regroup. step out, reset, and try again. don't just keep plowing forward and struggling or i could get hurt.
Crosspost from http://dawntreader.dreamwidth.org/2039507.html. There are
comments.