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I went deeper into tonight's Yoga routine with this thought that I had read about in an article by a very wise Yogi who knows the practice better than most: That most people are holding Asanas for longer than their bodies benefit from, instead of long enough to unlock whatever their body needed to unlock.
It was a thought I decided to entertain, after maintaining that holding poses like Downward Facing Dog are necessary for building my strength. The next one I suddenly noticed as I stood bent over, was actually unlocking something though that I needed more time with. I hit the pause button on my Yoga app and indulged the stretch for as long as I needed to, and that started happening suddenly with every subsequent pose until I finally noticed something amazing happening in my mind and body even with Downward Dog although I'm not yet strong enough to hold it for as long as I need to--incredible release of tension, increased flexibility, and just something really good deep down in the muscles, tendons and every part of me that I can't really describe with any other word than 'good'.
I was experiencing such relief from emotional agonies as I went through this, following my body's natural modification process as I embraced the deeper nature of Yoga, its incredible healing, and even in Corpse Pose I felt my heart and lungs tapped into by this mysterious process that I don't understand at all beyond the idea of the energy that I've heard some Yoga Nidra teachers talking about being activated or recognized and finally setting some deep tissue healing into motion.
Throughout the entire experience, I was suddenly breathing correctly too. I have been doing all of the Yoga practices from home, going very slowly and carefully and paying close attention to my online teachers as well as the demonstrations through the Yoga app; suddenly, though, it's as if I had some ancient guru standing there with me paying the utmost intensive care to my body as I went through the various Asanas. Mountain Pose, which looks just like a person standing still when I go by the picture on the Yoga app suddenly became a pose that stretched my arms and eventually moved my spine into a forward bending position as if I was going to go back into another downward facing pose.
Muscles I didn't know I had have been activated and soothed and 'opened'. I move better and am finally noticing how intensely sore my body is from holding years and years of tension. I'm over 30 years old! That's a very long time to hold tension but I can remember doing it from the age of at least 3!
I now understand why positions like crouching and squatting as they do in India make for a much better transition into Yoga. Going back to sitting in a chair in order to type this entry actually feels unnatural--the position of my spine, and even my wrists although I'm careful of things like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It still doesn't feel like what my body naturally wants.
I'm still so amazed, too. I've been getting stronger every day and moving more easily, but wow the flexibility out of the blue tonight!
I'm just so incredibly blessed because tonight I didn't even want to take my medicine--meaning Yoga. I wasn't 'feeling it'. Well, I feel it now but I don't have time for Yoga Nidra. I'll see what happens, I guess. There is a podcast I listen to that has reasonably short sessions. I'm just increasingly more fascinated with all things Yoga.
Wow, I feel good.
Bye.
-L
It was a thought I decided to entertain, after maintaining that holding poses like Downward Facing Dog are necessary for building my strength. The next one I suddenly noticed as I stood bent over, was actually unlocking something though that I needed more time with. I hit the pause button on my Yoga app and indulged the stretch for as long as I needed to, and that started happening suddenly with every subsequent pose until I finally noticed something amazing happening in my mind and body even with Downward Dog although I'm not yet strong enough to hold it for as long as I need to--incredible release of tension, increased flexibility, and just something really good deep down in the muscles, tendons and every part of me that I can't really describe with any other word than 'good'.
I was experiencing such relief from emotional agonies as I went through this, following my body's natural modification process as I embraced the deeper nature of Yoga, its incredible healing, and even in Corpse Pose I felt my heart and lungs tapped into by this mysterious process that I don't understand at all beyond the idea of the energy that I've heard some Yoga Nidra teachers talking about being activated or recognized and finally setting some deep tissue healing into motion.
Throughout the entire experience, I was suddenly breathing correctly too. I have been doing all of the Yoga practices from home, going very slowly and carefully and paying close attention to my online teachers as well as the demonstrations through the Yoga app; suddenly, though, it's as if I had some ancient guru standing there with me paying the utmost intensive care to my body as I went through the various Asanas. Mountain Pose, which looks just like a person standing still when I go by the picture on the Yoga app suddenly became a pose that stretched my arms and eventually moved my spine into a forward bending position as if I was going to go back into another downward facing pose.
Muscles I didn't know I had have been activated and soothed and 'opened'. I move better and am finally noticing how intensely sore my body is from holding years and years of tension. I'm over 30 years old! That's a very long time to hold tension but I can remember doing it from the age of at least 3!
I now understand why positions like crouching and squatting as they do in India make for a much better transition into Yoga. Going back to sitting in a chair in order to type this entry actually feels unnatural--the position of my spine, and even my wrists although I'm careful of things like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It still doesn't feel like what my body naturally wants.
I'm still so amazed, too. I've been getting stronger every day and moving more easily, but wow the flexibility out of the blue tonight!
I'm just so incredibly blessed because tonight I didn't even want to take my medicine--meaning Yoga. I wasn't 'feeling it'. Well, I feel it now but I don't have time for Yoga Nidra. I'll see what happens, I guess. There is a podcast I listen to that has reasonably short sessions. I'm just increasingly more fascinated with all things Yoga.
Wow, I feel good.
Bye.
-L
