If you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a whole lot longer than you'd like.- Garden State
After class, I like to ask students, "how was it?" At least two or three times a week, I have a student shake their head, give me a disgusted face and then start to list all the things that was wrong with their practice. "I couldn't t do my binds, I was tired, My butt hurt, I couldn't do what I normally could do...etc..." Essentially they leave filling horrible because they didn't accomplish an ideal that they inflicted upon themselves. Yoga is supposed to help release stress but if you are too serious within your practice, you actually create it.
Signs That Your Yoga Practice May Be a Stress Inducer Instead of a Stress Reliever
- If anything in your environment is off, your whole practice is shot. Examples-Room temperature is off, there is a sub, you don't get the spot you wanted in the class, you don't like the teacher's music choice or lack thereof etc
- When you fall out of a pose you curse, roll your eyes, pout, obsess over it for the rest of the class, keep trying the pose even though the whole class has moved on
- You obsess over getting the next Ashtanga series, jump throughs, jump backs, back bends, binds etc
- You grunt instead of breath
- You won't be caught dead in child's pose
- You have injuries but you refuse to modify poses
- You go to workshop after workshop trying to find that one teacher who can get you into that pose that keeps alluding you
- When you finish practicing you are mad, frustrated, stressed out
- You stop going to a certain class because you can't do a certain posture
How To Get Over Yourself and Seriously, Just Practice
- Embrace the present moment-just roll with what is going on. It is what it is.
- Make the practice your own-There are only a handful of yogas out there that are strict about what should be practiced. For the most part if you add or take away poses doing class, the average yoga teacher doesn't mind. If it is not hot enough, get closer to a heater, breathe deeper, do full versions of all the postures, practicing using your bandhas. Whatever you feel you are not getting, see if you can take charge of your practice and add it in.
- Life is a journey not a destination-Find joy in your current practice and don't worry about where you think is should be going.
- Laugh at yourself-if you fall out of a pose just laugh then try again and keep it moving.
- I doubt on your death bed you will be wishing you could have just done one more plank-put your yoga practice into perspective. Well getting that bind make you a better person or is it the thoughts in your mind and your approach to the bind that can be applied to your every day life?
- Time is on your side-even if it isn't, take a look back at the bullet point above. There will be another opportunity to practice. If you really want to do a pose, practice makes perfect. If the class environment wasn't to your liking, you have time to find another one.
- Your yoga practice only lasts an hour, but you need your body for at least another 70 years-Imagine how stupid you will sound and feel as you explain to your doctor, insurance company, family and friends, that you had extensive surgery and had to learn how to walk again because you just couldn't give up on leg behind the head
- Think about the other people in the room-cussing out the teacher and loud mouth breathing doesn't just effect you but ruins it for everybody else
Video of the day: This teacher feels overwhelmed
