My yoga practice is definitely NOT dull or unproductive, but it is comfortable, familiar, and hard to change -- because I love comfortable and familiar things. I'm not a seeker of new adventures. I generally scare myself with all the ways things can go wrong. And I'm generally wrong about that, but every time I have to start from the scared place. Sigh.
My usual yoga practice is to go to the studio on Wednesday and/or Friday and maybe a weekend day sometimes. This is a switch from Tuesdays and Thursdays of times past due to scheduling conflicts. Still, whenever I go, I know the teacher; I have my favorite spots to unfurl my mat; I'm pretty confident I'll be able to do the poses. I like the gentler, more therapeutic classes lately which help me feel physically renewed and emotionally calm when I leave.
But recently I moved out of the comfort zone and tried a couple of unfamiliar classes. I went to the new YMCA in town with a friend and did a Sunday yoga class there. It was not at all like my beloved Yoga Circle Studio! The room was huge, chilly, and barren of any pretty things. The group was huge too -- about 60 people and the teacher wasn't the best fit for me. I left feeling a bit let down, but an hour of yoga is good thing, regardless.
Last week I was back at the studio, taking a class I've long been curious about, but not brave enough to try. It's the Saturday morning at 8:30 Warm Energy Flow: "An energetic practice moving from one posture to the next. The Sun Salutation is often the foundation for this class. Flow yoga warms the muscles; builds heat, and moves through to cooling and relaxation. This is an intermediate level class, as the class is vigorous. At the same time, we encourage a focused and peaceful mind while performing the poses. The room temperature is allowed to rise to no more than 80 degrees to facilitate your movement, but not cause discomfort or stress."
Whew! That sounded totally out of my comfort zone! I dressed in layers thinking even me, who runs cold all the time, would get hot! I was ready with my inner pep talk about going at my own pace. I was looking forward to a challenge.
As soon as I hit the door and saw our teacher, I lost my nerve and I announced my nervousness and said, "I hope I can keep up!" She immediately reminded me that was not the point of yoga. I know that! I know! I appreciated the reminder that my ego was squawking at me and I could ignore it.
I ended up loving the class. It was not as vigorous as I'd anticipated. I did warm up and shed a layer. I was challenged by a few of the stronger poses, but reminded that I used to do more of that before I went full on 'gentle' and while I noticed I could use some strength-building, I loved doing what I could and look forward to more. I noticed my mind was definitely focused -- no autopilot.
Sometimes a rut is a fine place to be and sometimes jumping out of it opens new opportunities for experience and growth.
Just remember, yoga is not about poses -- except in service to having a body that can feel strong, flexible, and at ease when focusing on calming the fluctuations of the mind. We can do that no matter the degree of difficulty and duration of our Forearm Plank.
Namaste, donnajurene
Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com
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