What is yoga?
What are we doing here?
Tips to enhance your hatha yoga experience.
General
Use the first 10 minutes to arrive. To be focused inside the body, to breath, to become aware of the mind.
Take responsibility for yourself… NO one is going to do it for you. Listen to the teacher GUIDE you. The teacher is to help YOU understand. The teacher is NOT there to give you another authority figure to listen without your functioning mind.
Practice awareness of your thoughts.
Energy rises
Be the meeting point of two huge poles of energy .. the earth and the sky. Consider the qualities of the earth.. consider the qualities of the sky. How can your body represent and balance both?
BELONG in your space.. know that there is only here and now.. everything else is NOT real.. its just a function of your brain… memories, and projections. Know yourself to belong in this moment. You are more than welcome.. This is YOUR house.
Namaste… the hands pressed deliberately in prayer.. pressed against the heart centre… open the emotions.. be one and the same.. respect.. humble.. real, one and the same… my success is your success
Be comfortable. Think about how you can make your yoga time more comfortable, and do it. The class is about YOU.
Love the self.. feel the possibilities that love brings.. the opening. The LIFE…Increasing LOVE increases LIFE. Is that true?
What happens when we say ‘I accept myself’ ?
notice your physical, emotional and mental reaction…
is it ‘of course’ ?
is it ‘I accept my hair.. but I don’t accept my thighs’ ?
is it ‘don’t be ridiculous.. how can I accept myself.. I’m disgusting’ ?
if you are accepting only a part of yourself.. if you are against part of yourself.. then that means there are two of you… that you are divided.. and that is not yoga.. unity.. togetherness
Priorities.. discovering what is important and putting time to it.. backing off from the sacrificing.. and taking more time for ourselves…
Acceptance.. yoga… togetherness. Unity..
Enhancing our body’s awareness… the bodily functions… feeling the blood course through the veins.. feeling the energy flow.. feeling each and every cell springing to life.. being alive at every moment.. together, as one.. with your body… KNOW THYSELF!
Our attitude is ‘practicing yoga’--- (playing yoga)… because if you think THIS is it.. That this is the performance.. this is the end… then there is too much pressure.. THIS is not a test.. there is never a test.. the whole practice is just that.. practice to be stronger.. practice to be yogis..
Physical
Length of the spine… awareness!! It’s the tower of the body!
Let your body do its thing.. do not consciously hold your body together.. the body is designed to hold itself together, with NO help from you.. tension in shoulders, legs.. stomach.. let it go.. its your bodies job, not your minds’.
Your body is SMARTER than you and you need to listen to what it is saying.. it will tell you what it needs..
Build up from the feet in the standing poses.
The front side, the back side.. the left and right.. of each and every pose
Where is the breath in this pose?
Notice your eye gaze (Drishti) Consider why the eyes are important.
Its YOUR body… feel it.. know that its your legs, your arms, your responsibility..
Practice!!!
Pranayama (breath control/exercises) is the key for you to move forward in your training.
Breath like we enjoy it. Like we feel it. Like its wine… Like we are savoring our breath… how does it feel.. ? (not neat, precise barely noticeable breaths)..
Breath.. heavy breathing.. listening to someone else’s breath.. why is it a challenge?.. why can’t we feel comfortable in our breath?
Work on ACCEPTING the body just as it is today… ‘I accept my body’. How does it make you feel to say the words? Is it true? Are you ready to accept your body?
Keep asking yourself - What is the pose doing for me? Where do I feel the breath? How does it make me feel?... tuning into the body…
Your stance is built from the feet… Its strong in the legs, and wanting to go somewhere. Be expressive in the arms and fingers! Let the eyes shine.. let your practice be joyful in your body.. let love go with you with every movement..
Balance of strength, focus, lightness, balance…
We are the MASTER of our bodies.. we are the ones who know it best… nobody can know our body better than us… be happy for the confidence of having this one thing in our control… our biggest discovery yet!
First of all learn the technique.. take your time.. and become comfortable… then.. begin to feel the exercises… feel the breath.. learn to give a bit more..
And to open your self a bit more..
Soft the face.. letting go…
STOP!
LISTEN!
There are literally hundreds of books out there… its up to YOU to make THIS article work for you.. by actively participating… putting it up in your pile of papers to read will not help you to practice yoga
Accepting responsibility
Nobody tells us, in this society.. that NOW its time to be an adult.. its just suddenly.. ok.. somehow.. we are living a life that we are suppose to know what to do with.. Then we reach an age that ‘wow’.. ok… now I know that my parents didn’t have a clue.. they were fumbling around just like me..
So what do we have to learn? What do we have to take responsibility for? What CAN we actually decide?..
1) turn off your TV
2) no more news before bed
3) write down all of your favourite things
4) write down things you want.. then add to it by writing how you're going to get it.
5) give thanks for the simple things in life..
6) what else?
7) Do some yoga?
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