Following my month intensive yoga training I am absolutely loving my new routine and am sticking to my morning
practice! I get up early and go for a big walk grabbing a coffee on the way
back, sifting through emails and following up on anything I need to do before I
step onto my mat for my morning practice. I’m sure that might raise a few
eyebrows but I love my morning coffee and I find if I go for a walk or jog in
the morning it wakes my body up so that when I step on the mat I am not yawning,
or distracted by my to do list!
Sticking to my daily self practice hasn’t
proved difficult at all, I was a bit nervous that it would be hard to stay
motivated without the class of people around me but as I have discovered over
the month my whole attitude to yoga changed- in many ways. So instead of having
to make time to get onto the mat, my yoga practice is now a standard part of my
day and everything else fits around it.
One of the challenges I have faced however,
is the fine balance of listening to my body, working to what it needs on any
given day and also pushing myself. Last week I found myself easing out of poses
and maybe taking a modification – out of habit rather than listening to how my
body really felt. So the balance had tipped in the other way- when I realized
this I just laughed to myself- typical me! I had gone from the extreme of
pushing my body too far, compromising the pose to try to reach the deepest
option given by the teacher to pulling back and taking the modifications given.
Now, this is not a bad thing but I was missing the point. Modifications and
props are great. Learning to bend my knees in downward dog dramatically changed
my yoga practice- I remember trying this throughout a whole class and having a
serious wow moment but by doing this I have now gotten my alignment right and
can straighten my legs….sometimes I just forget to go into the full pose.
So I tried to focus on each posture and see
what felt right and really listen to how each pose felt- which was great, but I
was loosing the flow…. So I got a mirror! Genius…. Now I do my practice beside
the mirror, without over thinking I can see where I am compromising the pose or
going too deep, I can also see how I am improving in areas and it is absolutely
inspiring my teaching. By watching how my body moves and feels at the same time
it has given a whole new depth to my teaching. It is like I am my own student,
yes it does involve talking to myself the odd time but I’m good with that.
I don’t stare in the mirror the whole time,
I don’t need to, but it is like my prop. I think no matter how aware you are of
your body by using a mirror it will open your eyes and give you a new
perspective on your own yoga practice. It also really helped me with the
movement between poses, analyzing the transition and keeping that fluid too. Whether
you are a yoga teacher or not it doesn’t matter I really recommend you try
doing some yoga with a big mirror so you can check yourself out. Now I know
looking in a mirror can be a bit daunting and the idea of looking at your body
in so much detail might be a bit intimidating- unfortunately I don’t have a
miracle cure. But I do understand and I can share my own insecurities, which
hopefully will encourage you to give it a go.
I used to really struggle with looking in
the mirror, I used to put my make up on in low light and then do a quick check
that there was no big streaks or mascara smudges under my eyes and then walk
away from the mirror. For me it was a really scary thing, I over analysed and
criticized every part of me and constantly felt the need to pull my tummy in or
hide behind big sunglasses. Do you know what I learned from this- it is so
tiring and it wastes a lot of time…. So I decided to try something new. Looking
in the mirror and instead of worrying about the little things I would change I
consciously highlighted what I liked (this was a challenging process to start)
but I stuck with it and got to a place where I can look in the mirror now and I
see me.
So maybe start with doing yoga with a
mirror and really get to know your body, from a different angle, use the mirror
to help you to get into the perfect pose for you and go easy on yourself.
Praise yourself as you progress, laugh when you fall and if you notice yourself
frowning- smile!
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