What do you need today?

It is the middle of week two of my intensive teacher training course, I haven't hit that information overload yet or fallen out of love with my mat- in fact it is quite the opposite. Over the last two weeks I have had lectures in anatomy, yoga philosophy, meditation, pose analysis, Savasna to name but a few.... the point is there is alot more to yoga than I originally thought. 

Having practiced yoga for a number of years I thought I had a pretty good grip on the whole yoga buzz, admittedly I knew I didn't know too much on yoga philosophy but it did surprise me to know that the physical yoga or asanas, is only one spoke of the yoga wheel and the others focus on totally different things and are not about poses at all. I am not even going to pretend to be the voice of knowledge on this one though because from the short amount of exposure I have had I know that what I have learned is a droplet in a massive ocean which stretches far beyond where the eyes can see and can be approached from different angles. 

However, the most surprising and beneficial learning for me this week came from a morning practice. It is amazing how a teacher can sense a vibe in a room with very little verbal interaction. On Tuesday morning I think the general tone was a little tired, some people hitting information overload, others starting to worry about the dreaded exams fast approaching and others just a little drained from eating, breathing and sleeping sanskrit terms. To some people the below thought might seem simple and others a bit strange- but this has had a huge impact not only on my practice, but my day and week off the mat so I wanted to share it. Our teacher started the class by inviting us to: 

'Do whatever you need to do today to make this practice the best practice you have ever done, so that you wake up tomorrow morning looking forward to getting back on your mat.'

Now for most people in the class they have done alot of yoga and their mat is like a second home so trying to make this practice the best one ever was a big ask- or so I originally thought. I know for me there was an instant sense of the need to really work hard and push myself throughout the practice, that ego thing in the back of your head which sometimes mean you compromise your chest opening or shoulder rotation just to go to the full pose as if it earns you extra yoga points. It was as if the teacher read my mind and she continued by saying- listen to your body, there should be no pain or strain, you can push yourself and work hard where you want to but keep it juicy. Was it really a big ask or was it just a simple suggestion to let my body guide me?! 

Over the past few weeks I have really listened to the advice, suggestions and invitations from this teacher and they have worked really well so I thought why not give it a go. Throughout the class I really listened to my body, I used props where suggested sometimes they helped into the pose and other times I found I didn't need them. I tried different variations to poses rather than sticking to the version I always do and again some modifications worked better than what I was used to. It was a really fluid practice but rather than ending it feeling like I had done an easy class I felt like I had worked really hard but was totally energised, because I had listened to what my body needed that day and by going with it I felt great. It is hard to explain but as we finished the closing sequence I felt totally re-energised and calm. 

True to her word I woke up the following morning and couldn't wait to get onto my mat for my morning practice. It's not like I usually dread it or have to be forced to do a practice, not at all, but this new sense of excitement and calmness was amazing.  This was a bit of a wow moment for me- if you listen to your body it will guide you to your limits, it will let you push them by challenging you but without any pain. There are no points in yoga, if there was you definitely wouldn't get awarded more points for going further into a pose and compromising your breath or your posture. The person who holds the pose, maintaining their breath and using the target areas of any given pose will win every time because they are being true to their body. I know for me it was like a pressure release when I did the modification of the pose that felt right in my body, on that day. It won't be the same every day and that is ok. Just because something works one day doesn't mean it will work the same tomorrow but that makes it interesting. Each day or practice you can work on whatever needs your focus. 

It's like a lucky dip- every time you get on your mat you will find a new challenge or focus area and thats what you work on that day. You don't need to worry about what anyone else is doing because they have a totally different lucky dip and they are working to something totally different. 

This idea has really stuck with me and I think it is a lovely idea for anyone to try. As you are waking up in the morning, it doesn't have to be on you mat but it can be while you are in the shower or walking to work..... have a think about what you need to do today to make it a good day for you. It might be a bit challenging and tiring to wake up every day and work to make it the best day you have ever had but you can definitely make the choice to do something every day to make you happy, to make you smile and to take away from the day. Every day will be different, some days it will be much easier than others, some days all you will need is a cupcake, a hug, a girls night in or a boys night out, talking to a true friend or going on a shopping spree but that doesn't matter- listen to your body and to how you feel and try to make yourself smile every day, by listening to how you really feel before the day takes over! It is a lovely feeling.