Practice
- mi7104
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
This is the essence of yoga, as it's all about the continuous effort we put in. It's one of the Niyamas called tapas, which translates as 'keeping the heat on'. As yoga teachers it's really hard to make this work too, as teaching yoga isn't our practice nor should it be.
I've been doing a bit more 'cover work' recently and not as much practice but I am really glad to be doing more yoga these last couple of of weeks as well as my other 'fitness' regime.
This coincides with a post on instagram I re shared this week which is about yoga not making you calm.
I feel an important part of 'the yoga practice' is to go outside our comfort zone. This is where the calmness can leave us, as in the reel above. As weaknesses are exposed. BUT, in these moments the yoga practice teaches us to be ever more present to sensations, feelings and letting our ego go. But equally about keeping trying and practising.
By leaning into this we can recognise frustration, anger and lets face it competitiveness, or ego, which are all completely valid emotions. That's when a sense of calmness can resume. Looking at things from a different perspective, zoom outside the situation and perhaps manage things differently.
This is the message in the Bhagavad Gita I'm referring to again, not being attached to an 'end result' but being present to the journey, or the practice.
If you want to know more about Tapas and the Niyamas here's an article from Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/philosophy/yoga-sutras/path-happiness/
In the article Gary Kraftsow writes, “The whole goal of yoga is Self-realization".
So, when I fell on my Monsterra this week trying a balance, not only did it make me feel humble, but remind me that I need more focus and build more strength in my left arm. It is getting stronger and I can do more things than I could a couple of years ago. But I need to keep practicing. This is the whole point right?
Have a lovely weekend and hope to see you next week X
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