Now And Zen Yoga

Often sometimes hear students say that they are “taking a break from yoga for the summer”.  We all have busy lives with weddings to attend, parties to host, vacations to take, children to spend time with, beaches to go to and home projects to work on … and summer is an ideal time for all of these things.

However, taking a “break” from your yoga practice is just that … a break.  And when you return after breaking your practice, you may find that you have to do a certain amount of work to achieve the same level of flexibility and strength that you had prior to breaking your practice.  A continued yoga practice is the best way to see continued growth and progress in your practice.

So, to help our students maintain their yoga practice, to inspire them to continue their practice throughout the summer, the Dog Days of Summer Yoga Challenge is well underway.  Come to class 15 days between July 1st and August 31st, and we will recognize your accomplishment by giving you a Dog Days of Summer T-shirt, a 1-week class pass and some other yoga goodies (you’ll only find out what they are if you finish the challenge).

If you have been coming to classes, you could potentially be 2/3 of the way done with the challenge by now!  Check the chart in the office to see where you are with the Dog Days of Summer Yoga Challenge.  All you need to do to participate is show up for class, could it be any easier?

While dining at a small chinese restaurant,  I was given a fortune cookie that read:

“It is better to attempt something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.”

I am not sure who these words of wisdom come from, but I would have to agree with my little cookie.

We often hear people speak about finding your “edge”.   What does that mean?  Your “edge” is that space in which you feel a deep stretch in your body, or where you feel your body working hard.  You must not go past that point or will risk pain, overworking the body, or even injury.

Finding your edge takes time.  First, you must get to know your body.  To do this, you must listen to what the body is telling you in any given yoga pose.  We must set our own ego aside as we explore how a pose feels and take cues from our own body.  Physical pain is the body’s way to tell us to back off, and we must respect these internal cues.  

We must let go of the thoughts in our busy mind so that we can listen to our bodies with a quiet mind.  Sometimes our mind is distracted with thoughts of arguments at home, errands to be run, phone calls to be made and fun to be had.  When we are distracted by such thoughts, we are not truly present in our yoga practice.  We must be present in order to focus on what our body is telling us.   

You must move slowly toward your edge, creeping closer and closer with every breath.  You cannot reach your edge simply by a force of will.  You must respect your own limitations and surrender into each pose.  It is only by surrendering to the posture that you can truly explore and find your edge. 

To find your edge is to find that place between stretch and suffer, between creation and destruction, between openness and protection.  By finding your edge, you will find balance.  This process cannot be rushed or forced.  No amount of physical pushing will help you in finding your edge.  Rather, you must surrender and move towards your edge slowly.  If you try to go too fast, like Thelma and Louise, you will go flying over that edge and into certain peril.  

So take your time, explore, and slowly you begin to near the edge within your own practice.