Positioning Yourself

The other day I was cutting the end off of a long piece of wood to make a bookshelf. In preparation I put the wood on a workbench. The wood was so long that it hung over both ends of the workbench so I needed to support one end with something. I used a lawn chair and a water bucket. Then I stopped and realized I needed to get into the right position to cut the wood. I’ve noticed this same thing with my dog Bear.

When Bear relieves himself he doesn’t just squat. He first finds a place. Then he walks around in circles or back and forth until he gets into just the right position, satisfied, he then squats and does his business.

I realize that positioning myself when I am practicing yoga is similar. If I don’t get myself just in the right position then the asana doesn’t present itself in the same way. I find this very interesting, how this positioning of oneself before entering the asana makes the asana so much more approachable. So just like I naturally position myself to cut the wood, and Bear naturally positions himself to do his business, we naturally position our selves to practice asanas.

Take note the next time you practice to see if this is so for you.

Injuries

This month new students at the studio were offered one free class to try out Iyengar Yoga. They were asked to fill out a registration form before starting the class. I look at this form before the class starts and if there is anything written down about injuries I usually talk to the student. Sometimes these are old injuries that have been there for years and the student has a good idea what brings on pain and what doesn’t.

So for new students to bring their arm over their head when there is a shoulder injury is a challenge. When they’re shown how to move in a way that creates space then they start to understand in what direction to work. To keep the understanding they need to keep doing the movement day in and out. The whole process is a journey.

If you have an injury, have you noticed how it affects your mind? I find that sometimes I push too far and there is a lot a sensation which clouds my mind in a way that I’m not clear about what is happening, all I know is that it hurts a lot. Other times there isn’t enough sensation to give my mind feed back to also know what is happening. So I find that the practice of working with an injury becomes a meditation. The mind is the observer and it can be clear on what it is observing if there is just the right amount of sensation.

So in a sense this injury is a wonderful teacher for body and mind, although a lot of us might not think of it in that way.

Hold Your Horses

Did you ever hear someone say “hold on” or “hold your horses”? I guess it means wait a minute, or pause. Lots of times we are in our heads so much it’s hard to know what is happening. But there are natural pauses, there is a natural pause between breaths, and there is a natural pause between thoughts.

In any movement practice these natural pauses are important to observe. They are times when you learn what’s happening with body and mind.

I know when I practice, sometimes I get in a hurry, or the other way around, I just stay in the asana blindly. I never learn about myself in those times because I don’t connect with the pauses. When I do connect with the pauses I’m able to observe “what is”. For instance, when I pause it gives me the opportunity to see that I have more weight on one hand than the other in Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Hand Balance). For me I need that pause to observe, otherwise I get caught up in “Time”.

There are still times now that I just say “hold your horses” to myself and when I do I’m grateful for that reminder.

Corn on the Cob

We all have our way of doing things. For example, when I have a meal with corn on the cob in the menu I always eat the corn separately from the other part of the meal. That’s the way I like to do it. You know, just get in there and chew on that cob. It seems different from the other part of the meal where I would use a fork, knife or maybe chopsticks. You know neither way is right or wrong, it is just the way I like to do it, you could say it’s my nature.

When I practice asanas I do the same thing. Some asanas I just get in there and do them and other ones I might use a block, chair or whatever. It is like eating the corn on the cob where I’m just enjoying the pleasures of taste, texture and smell. It’s not to say that when I do eat with utensils that I don’t enjoy the meal. It’s the same thing when I practice with the use of props. I enjoy it. I find the props give me insights. Props are useful but sometimes you just have to get in there and see what happens without them.