The other day during Yoga class I could not help but to notice a young woman who was in front of me. I had not seen her before in our class. After a few poses, it was clear to me that she was very accomplished in her Yoga skills. The most dramatic pose was one in which she placed her leg behind her head. I could not help thinking that no matter how much I practiced, I would never be able to do that. At the end of class I complimented her on her extraordinary abilities. After that I spent a lot of time thinking about what I might be able to do with more intense practice. I have found that I practice Yoga in waves. I might do a lot of Yoga for several weeks or months, and then I might slow down for any number of reasons. After one of these periods of less Yoga activity, I have found that it takes several sessions to get back to where I might have been. That is sort of where I am now.
I don't think that I want to be able to place my foot behind my head, nor do a head stand for my inversion. Nor do I think that I will ever do a full Vee pose with my legs going out at 180 degrees as do most of the instructors (and the person who I described above.) I do think that I derive a lot of positiveness with what I can do. I am constantly trying to stretch just a little more during certain poses. I guess this goes with the idea of trying to improve my abilities. What I really want is to have a sense of satisfaction and internal pease at the conclusion of each session regardless of who is in front of, behind, or next to me.
I make it a practice not to look at the person next to me. Instead, I try to achieve that union of mind and body that is the heart of yoga. For me the focus on the breathing, especially the sounding breaths, really helps me arrive at this balance. You mentioned the peace that you experience. I think that is the sweet fruit of the practice.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a culture of extreme competitiveness, so it is a good idea in yoga to make that radical departure from comparing ourselves with others. It is indeed liberating to read the sutras that describe how spiritual progress is singualar to each person. The other liberating point in the sutras is that yoga is about the present, the here and the now. Isn't it great to simply try to figure out if I can increase the duration of my pose for another breath?!
I agree with the idea of not being competitive. I will observe others especially the instructor to learn from them. I think that is one of the reasons that I like to go to Yoga classes. For me there is something very positive about group experiences.
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