It’s wonderful to see people who are gung-ho about their yoga practice. What isn’t so wonderful is seeing people injure themselves because they take gung-ho to the extreme. Yoga isn’t meant to be an extreme sport. It’s not about pushing. It’s about accepting and receiving and feeling good.
That’s not to say that you can’t navigate your body into some of the more challenging poses. The question is — should you? If you’re wanting to try a difficult posture, I suggest working up to it. Jumping up into headstand without preparation isn’t only unwise, but it’s dangerous.
I once had a client come to me wanting to master an arm balance. When I asked her why she chose this as her goal, her answer was something along the lines of “I want be a true yogi — strong and flexible.” Personally, I think that a yogi puts more stock in a strong and flexible mind rather than a strong and flexible body (although a yogi can have both), but I said nothing. Instead I started her off with a less taxing practice that would build up to her ultimate goal.
She didn’t like this. She wanted to go right for the goal. Why gradually strengthen the arms when you can push it right away? I explained that preparation was necessary and she grudgingly followed the practice I gave her. In doing the preparation, this student realized that her shoulders were tight and vulnerable due to previous injuries. She began to feel the value of backing off. She also got something that she didn’t come for — stress relief and peace of mind. After a month of working together, this student changed her mind about her goal. She decided to focus on bringing more flexibility (balanced with strength) to her shoulders and to expand the benefits of her asana practice with pranayama to increase the gains she had felt so far.
Rather than let her mind dictate the course of her practice, this student tuned into her body. I have no doubt that this student could have eventually achieved her original goal of the complicated arm balance. The question is — would that have been good for her in the long run or would she have achieved the goal only to injure herself after working with the arm balance over time?
I started out in gung-ho mode myself. Luckily, my yoga practice quieted my mind — eventually — and I started listening to my body. Years later when I trained in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, I found myself immersed in a practice that focused on body awareness. I began working with people who would learn so much from simply tuning into their body and honoring its message. The affect this had on people’s lives (and quality of life) never failed to amaze me.
If you’re chronically injured or feeling less than happy with your yoga practice, perhaps it’s time to stop practicing and start listening. Here are a few tools to help:
- Steve Sisgold recently released a book entitled What’s Your Body Telling You? The book is fabulous and it has a number of easy exercises that can be quite enlightening. It also offers guidelines for establishing a regular body awareness practice so that you can stay tapped into your body’s wisdom. For an introduction to Steve Sisgold, check out this fabulous video about his experience with listening to his body and how it brought him to Cow Consciousness (yes, you read that correctly — cow consciousness).
- The Rejuvenation Lounge (I just love that name!) offers a fabulous 3-minute relaxation/body awareness ritual. Click here for free access.
- Take a Kripalu yoga class. Kripalu yoga typically encourages students to listen to their body throughout their yoga practice. If you can’t find a class in your area, the Kripalu online store offers videos (I recommend the ones from Stephen Cope) that you can practice to at home. I also highly recommend Stephen Cope’s Yoga for Emotional Flow Program, which you can download from Amazon.
- Treat yourself to a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Session. I realize that I’m biased because I am a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Practitioner, but don’t take my word for it — try it for yourself. It’s a great introduction to enhancing your body mind awareness. Click here to find a practioner in your area. If you’d like to read a little more about Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, you can find founder Michael Lee’s book about the practice here.
Listening to your body every day can not only help you avoid pushing beyond your limits during your yoga practice, but it can help you gain clarity about your life and improve your overall quality of life. Why not take a few moments to tune in?
Namaste!
