How to Maximize a Shortened Practice Session
>> Sunday, May 16, 2010 –
tips
Sometimes you may not feel like practicing your daily yoga routine and want to either take a break or skip the practice all together. Most of us who practice regularly feel bad or have some sort of guilt feeling when we miss out practice, beat ourselves up about it, label ourselves to be lazy bum.
And that’s only natural: most students are taught from the beginning that missing practice is bad, that we should try to avoid missing our practice sessions. When we see other yogis practicing daily without fail we start feeling guilty on missing the practice. Maybe not always, but most of the times for sure. Some of this guilt can be attributed to our attachment to the practice.
Yet missing the practice for some periods of time every few months is a reality, which is difficult to avoid for most people. Some times this is unavoidable like travel schedule, difficult times in the family etc. while other reasons like laziness, not finding time are the ones which induce the guilt feeling.
Last Sunday I did not feel like practicing. Instead of letting the laziness get the better of me in entirety I decided to practice just three poses. That way, I guessed it would not need much time and the practice would not be broken. I tried those three poses and the results amazed me.
Here is what I did:
First I selected three forward bending poses- Baddhakonasana, Janushirasna and Paschimottanasana. My aim was to see how repeating the poses changed the reach and flexibility, especially when it was mixed other poses. I selected these three poses since all involved forward bending though different muscle areas are affected during the practice.
I tried the sequence thrice in the order the poses are mentioned and the results were in line with my expectations. After the first round I was not able to reach my head to the feet in the Baddhakonasana. After the second round I was able to touch the chin to the feet and after the third round I was able to touch the head to the ground. I had similar results for the other two poses also.
If you try this sequence you would be able also notice that you are more patient. Quite often when you practice around 10 to 15 poses you try to finish off the sequence and might think of the next pose while in the current pose. When you are aware that there are only three poses to practice you can take your own sweet time and enjoy each pose. Patience is definitely a virtue.
By following this sequence I benefited in more than one ways--I have more idea now how different poses affect you when you do them together;being able to maintain the continuity of the practice and able to observe each pose in more detailed fashion compared to what I would have if I did them as part of a longer sequence.
I am sure similar results would be achieved if you try similar experiment with any other three poses-though the important thing to remember is to select similar poses. For example take three back bending or twisting poses and try them out. Try to innovate and mix and match and be prepared for more excitement. You would start loving your practice even more.
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