Ashtanga Tuesday

It never fails to disappoint.  It's awesome to see improvement every week.  It's only been like, 6 weeks since joining the new studio and I've seen so much improvement already.  I've been having some trouble with my knee so it was easy to modify poses so that I didn't stress out my joints too much.   It's surprising though, to see how yoga has become a lifestyle, and that the people I am surrounded by in the studio are just so calm and at peace.  They are MINDFUL.   That mentality is what has been missing for so many years throughout my training as a researcher.  Being able to meditate on your problems and to step back and observe the bigger picture, to be able to remove yourself is a good thing.  Academics can seriously benefit from practicing yoga.  I wish more people would be open to trying it and entering the practice without bias and insecurity.  Yes, it's difficult, and yes, it's scary but it just takes practice, patience with yourself, and an open mind and dedication just like any other thing in life. 

It amazes me when people hold so many assumptions about yoga-- especially about personal injury and the dangers of it.  This article in the new york times came out last year:  how yoga can wreck your body (click to go to article).  I can see how yoga can wreck your body, but that is a problem of the ego.  It shouldn't be a problem of the practice.  One thing that practicing yoga has helped me to better understand was to more closely listen to my body.  To practice without ego and to hear what your body is telling you is so important.  The best way to injure yourself is to force your body into a pose when you aren't ready physically or mentally, to ignore the sharp shooting pain or to ignore your breath and your muscles.  You injure when you practice carelessly and when you push beyond your abilities.  But that's the case for anything.  Running-  you injure yourself when you push faster than your body can handle (i am guilty of this), without proper training and form you can injure your knees, ankles, hip, back.  Cycling- low impact, but again, you can injure yourself when you push faster than your body can handle.  your knees are so sensitive to repetitive motion, impact, and use and to abuse them because of an ego just seems silly and unnecessary. Any sport.  Swimming, gymnastics, soccer, wrestling, you're prone to injury.  Hell.  you're prone to injuring yourself when you're walking down the stairs, getting in your car, walking down the hallway, wearing heels, sitting in chairs too long, working at a keyboard. 

But anyway, lets be mindful.  lets practice with with an open heart and lets be happy and content with life and all its intricacies.