My afternoon slump hit me hard yesterday. I sensed an evening of kids aggravating each other, a home screaming at me to straighten it, and my husband hoping to watch tv peacefully (i.e. no basket of laundry lovingly placed at his feet.) So, with a couple of other secret motivators I kicked myself out of the house and to 7:30p.m. Power Yoga. I was thankful with my decision.
The ultimate goal of yoga is an absolute state of relaxation when you enter the final pose...savasana or "corpse pose." So the name is a bit depressing but when I discover how good it feels after 55 minutes of asanas or body postures I actually look forward to my resting pose. During parts of the class, as I held challenging positions on the edge of pain (remember pleasure and pain pathways are quite similar)I would be on the verge of giving in to the path of least resistance (imagine a blob on the floor). Miraculously the instructor would expertly lead us to a recovery pose, or at least one which took my mind off the previous challenge.
Yoga functions with the "be here now" philosophy. Instead of always thinking about what is coming next it demands the participant live in the current pose. If thoughts come in to your mind, and they certainly will, allow the thoughts to freely exit. The gaze is gentle, almost as if you are staring beyond the present room. Within yoga one is not affected by success or failure, there is no competition, no judgments, no winners or losers, no good yoga or bad yoga...simply yoga.
I relish the sense if calm, clarity, and quietness a yoga class provides to my mind and spirit. It helps me to look at life in all of its aspects with a more balanced view, whether it is pleasure or pain. The asanas have evolved so as to exercise every muscle, nerve and gland in the body. The postures are designed to create a body which is strong and elastic without being muscle-bound. And in the spiritual concepts of yoga the practice encourages you to connect with God..as the sanskrit of yoga means "to yoke" or to join.
Whatever yoga is it certainly worked for me last night. I slept like a rock in an 8 hour savasana pose.
As a side-note, I stopped drinking coffee a few months ago in lieu of tea. I think I got tired of making the coffee each night plus I found I kept reaching for additional cups throughout the morning. It also contributed to me feeling hyper as I would try to get the kids to school and myself to work in a rather frenzied, caffeine induced state of mind. I like the "Yogi" brand of green teas, blueberry, ginger, black and white teas, not only because they are designed to boost immunity but also because each tea bag comes with a little note attached, similar to a fortune cookie. I am a sucker for karma and philosophical messages. I immediately imagine that the messages were created especially for me at this moment in time...I know, ludicrous, but a girl can dream can't she?
So my recent messages include:
"Live from your heart, you will be most effective."
"Mantras you shouldn't say: I don't know; I'm not ready; I can't do it."
"Life is a flow of love; your participation is requested."
"You will feel fulfilled when you do the impossible for someone else."
"Live with reverence for yourself and others."
Yoga is a method to calm the restless mind and direct energy into constructive channels. I believe our world would be more peaceful if yoga practice was required by all, however that is unrealistic. What is possible however is that my little world of relationships becomes increasingly peaceful. This reminds me of the note printed outside of our Pilates room last week: "Practice the intention of being at peace with everyone. When you do, you connect with peace itself."
Thanks for reading!
The ultimate goal of yoga is an absolute state of relaxation when you enter the final pose...savasana or "corpse pose." So the name is a bit depressing but when I discover how good it feels after 55 minutes of asanas or body postures I actually look forward to my resting pose. During parts of the class, as I held challenging positions on the edge of pain (remember pleasure and pain pathways are quite similar)I would be on the verge of giving in to the path of least resistance (imagine a blob on the floor). Miraculously the instructor would expertly lead us to a recovery pose, or at least one which took my mind off the previous challenge.
Yoga functions with the "be here now" philosophy. Instead of always thinking about what is coming next it demands the participant live in the current pose. If thoughts come in to your mind, and they certainly will, allow the thoughts to freely exit. The gaze is gentle, almost as if you are staring beyond the present room. Within yoga one is not affected by success or failure, there is no competition, no judgments, no winners or losers, no good yoga or bad yoga...simply yoga.
I relish the sense if calm, clarity, and quietness a yoga class provides to my mind and spirit. It helps me to look at life in all of its aspects with a more balanced view, whether it is pleasure or pain. The asanas have evolved so as to exercise every muscle, nerve and gland in the body. The postures are designed to create a body which is strong and elastic without being muscle-bound. And in the spiritual concepts of yoga the practice encourages you to connect with God..as the sanskrit of yoga means "to yoke" or to join.
Whatever yoga is it certainly worked for me last night. I slept like a rock in an 8 hour savasana pose.
As a side-note, I stopped drinking coffee a few months ago in lieu of tea. I think I got tired of making the coffee each night plus I found I kept reaching for additional cups throughout the morning. It also contributed to me feeling hyper as I would try to get the kids to school and myself to work in a rather frenzied, caffeine induced state of mind. I like the "Yogi" brand of green teas, blueberry, ginger, black and white teas, not only because they are designed to boost immunity but also because each tea bag comes with a little note attached, similar to a fortune cookie. I am a sucker for karma and philosophical messages. I immediately imagine that the messages were created especially for me at this moment in time...I know, ludicrous, but a girl can dream can't she?
So my recent messages include:
"Live from your heart, you will be most effective."
"Mantras you shouldn't say: I don't know; I'm not ready; I can't do it."
"Life is a flow of love; your participation is requested."
"You will feel fulfilled when you do the impossible for someone else."
"Live with reverence for yourself and others."
Yoga is a method to calm the restless mind and direct energy into constructive channels. I believe our world would be more peaceful if yoga practice was required by all, however that is unrealistic. What is possible however is that my little world of relationships becomes increasingly peaceful. This reminds me of the note printed outside of our Pilates room last week: "Practice the intention of being at peace with everyone. When you do, you connect with peace itself."
Thanks for reading!