Hi Liz,I've been dealing with this as well and I find what helps to re-motivate me is signing up for weekend intensives or any kind of workshop that spans beyond a regular 60 or 90 minute class. I just finished a 20 hour weekend course and I really think that was one of a very few things that could have lifted me from my funk. I found a sub for my Sat / Sun class and was able to go. It was GREAT! I think that like anything else we have the ability to fall in and out of love with our practice if we don't constantly nurture it. I liked what Carolyn mentioned about starting her practice before she gets out of bed. That's something that I don't always take the time to do but really should. I imagine many of my days would run a bit smoother if I started them out more positively : )Katrina
Hi Liz,I'm not a teacher (at all) but self discipline is something we all have trouble with every once in a while (or actually ever so often :). Like Katrina said workshops will give new inspiration. So do classes. They motivate me anyway. I also love yoga magazines buying some gorgeous books or looking up inspirational sites. It can also help to set goals but keeping them small and doable like promising yourself to do one asana first thing in the morning (hey you can do one asana easily right?) and that first step really gets you started and before you know it you've done twenty plus some deep meditation too and are actually doing a regular home practice!At the moment I'm working with a new yoga program from a book and promised myself to stick to it. Even though I already know a lot of the poses in there and I'm not really a beginner. I needed some fresh inspiration/insights because I was getting in a rut doing the same things in the same manner... And the same old favorite poses... Doing this program really helps me to get back to the basics and view things from a different and fresh angle and it also covers meditation and breath awareness two other important aspects I can use more of. I also promised myself that after each week that I'd finish (it's an eight week program). I'd buy myself a little something like a reward and this can be yoga related to keep myself in the yoga mood (like a new yoga book) but doesn't have to be. After the first week. I treated myself to a yoga book I had my eye. And after the whole 8 week program I'm gonna treat myself to something big... I don't know... A retreat perhaps? Or just something I wanted to have for some time... There are lots of things :)Anyway the presents are nice to look forward to however it's not only meant as a reward but as a true celebration. Celebrations always give me new energy!
I find that daily practice of some kind is beneficial for all of us - but not necessarily the same kind of practice every day. Some of us just won't benefit from a full 90 minutes of hatha yoga in the morning.. some days 30 minutes will be better some days 2 hours. I know for myself that having a dedicated asana practice that happens 4 days per week is very beneficial - i do it first thing in the morning both because then i get it out of the way and don't have to worry about finding a time to practice and because it also juices the rest of my day. I find it is good for me to do the practice regardless of any excuses i have - in most cases i feel better from practicing than I would have from resting. and i begin to realize that the excuses are rarely really valid.. more like attempts for the habitual mind to through me off track before I actually start to change many blessings to you.
I hit and miss a lot---now that I'm not working. I'm sticking to my regiment better than I was---very carefully I might add not wanting to over do. It seems though I'll stick to it better if I work it in via the morning----if I put it off until laterl. I'm inclined to put it off period. I'm going to participate in a restorative class Friday poses for those days when you feel exhausted and just lying in a position breathing is about all you can manage. Being a teacher I'm sure you're aware of these asanas. I'm not yet......*grin. But I'm thinking if you're too tired to do maybe this could be a substitute during those times until you feel more like doing something a little more intense? As long as you keep in touch with your body they tell me it never forgets Yoga. *grin*
Others have touched on the idea that there are other ways to practice yoga besides asanas. I would like to offer an interpretation that expands on this idea. In Sutra 1.14. Patanjali states that practice is firmly grounded only after is has been cultivated properly and for a long time "uninteruptedly" (Georg Fuerstein's translation). This may suggest that yoga should be practiced not only every day but every minute of every day. Obviously it is not possible to practice asana's constantly but in Sutras 1.33 - 1.39 Patanjali suggests several methods of practice that could enable one to practice all of the time. Does anyone else read the Sutra's this way? Anyone disagree with this interpretation?
Absolutely in highest yoga tantra there are eleven 'yogas' the first three of which are sleeping rising and daily activities. These are taught as an endless cycle in which the remaining yogas may be practiced within. The goal is to realize the true nature of ātman and develop uninterrupted awareness of the Dharmakaya. One simple way to practice this is to remain mindful of every breath throughout the day irrespective of whatever else you are engaged in. This is the goal of yoga to yoke the mind using various foci such as the breath movement concentration and so forth. Take your practice off the mat and into the streets- enter the stream of life!
"remain mindful of every breath throughout the day irrespective of whatever else you are engaged in. This is the goal of yoga to yoke the mind using various foci such as the breath movement concentration and so forth. Take your practice off the mat and into the streets- enter the stream of life!"Michael on the surface the sentences above strike a positive chord yet respect to how the mind operates - the realization of what you've written is impossible whether it be attempted by the Buddha himself or the postman. I'd say that our attempts can enable us to realize the actual lack of control we have and that the realization of this is far more valuable than achieving even a small success with respect to what we set out to do. The mind is designed to scan and hone in on the most appropriate course of action for any given moment. While it is possible to alter the brain's physical configuration and corresponding mental dynamic whatever it becomes configured to is the new dynamic. In other words - we can (if it is our destiny) affect modifications which alter our course of action yet this modified state is no more our 'true nature' than where we came from or where we're going to. Our practice on the mat and on the street are both equally valid perspectives of who we are. There is no distinction.
People have above shared a lot of good stuff already.. so I'll just mention my own perspective on priorities. I've found that if my time is cramped and either my physical energy or available time limits me. I've simply done some sitting meditation. A morning and evening sitting if possible and one sitting if two wind up being impractical. I do asanas and pranayama when my time allows. I see the deep internal connection with soul (atman) as the central thing in yoga - both theoretically and practically. One bit I'll add is that much that I was hoping for quite a few years to realize or actualize through asanas and even pranayama in I seem to have found via my Reiki attunements and Reiki practice (which includes self-treatment). I said "much" but not "all". I still think asanas and pranayama each have special value of their own. But I suppose I have my own way of priorizing things. Namaste,Tanemon
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http://allyoga.tribe.net/thread/b0aa259f-b7ed-400a-b200-8b7f2eae5a33#c2a8e7f9-b428-459c-9172-cd61f7d3c673
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