I'm thinking of quitting Ashtanga

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello everyone, I having a bit of a dilemma with my yoga practice and am think of quitting it (Ashtanga) and moving on to something less intense like kundalini yoga.

I just don’t have the energy to do it, it drains me and the thought of doing it just makes me want to sleep. I am due right now to begin my practice but just can’t be bothered.

I feel bad because I consider Ashtanga to be superior to Kundalini (is that wrong of me?)

Ah to hell with it I’m going to just do the vinyasas and the standing sequence at least right now.

#2

First things first, No…I don’t think that there is any one practice of yoga that is superior to another. A lot of times your body is just craving or needing something else, and there is nothing wrong with listening to that urge and going with it.
This does not mean that you have to write off Ashtanga practice forever, look at is as more of a ‘Good-bye for now’ :slight_smile:

It is also important for you to look at all of the reasons that you are craving something different. Some questions you may want to consider:
~Are you just feeling defeated by the practice?
~Are you expecting too much from yourself, and pushing through the practice instead of letting your body guide you through the practice?
~ Is it your ego or your spirit telling you to move on?

I was in a yoga class last night, and the teacher was discussing how fun it is to teach yoga to children. She was telling us how the children laugh throughout the practice, but they laugh the hardest when they fall out of poses. She said one phrase that really stuck with me: “Its the ego that hates to fall, the spirit loves it”

A huge part of yoga is learning to not judge ourselves, and let the journey be what it is going to be that day. If this means practicing a different style, so be it. You will know when that particular journey is over.

So, know that there is no wrong answer to your question. You just need to be clear on WHY you want to change, not IF you should do so :slight_smile:

Find the joy in yoga, and the rest will fall into place for you.

All my best,
Jenn :slight_smile:

#3

one more thing…Kundalini yoga is definitely a different style of yoga from Ashtanga, but equally as challenging in its own right. For someone who is feeling defeated by their current practice, this might just be EXACTLY what you need to experience for while. Strengthen your spirit and mind for a while, and then go back to the thing you felt was challenging…you might be surprised how much more at ease you are, once your mind is calm and in control.

#4

[QUOTE=childofthetao;66206]Hello everyone, I having a bit of a dilemma with my yoga practice and am think of quitting it (Ashtanga) and moving on to something less intense like kundalini yoga.

[B]I just don’t have the energy to do it, it drains me and the thought of doing it just makes me want to sleep[/B]. I am due right now to begin my practice but just can’t be bothered.

I feel bad because I consider Ashtanga to be superior to Kundalini (is that wrong of me?)[/QUOTE]
Have you tried yet to do some cardio training beside your ashtanga practice? It might help to improve your aerobic endurance.
Or maybe you are just not breathing enough/too fast when doing your practice? I’ve noticed that I get more easily tired if I neglect to breath properly…

I am trying out at the moment all sorts of yoga styles to find the ones that suit me best, and so far found Scaravelli Yoga to be the most restorative and energizing - I can do that even when I feel dead tired, and then leave the class full of energy…

#5

It’s certainly fine for a student of yoga to discern what sort of practice serves them. In fact, the cultivation of discernment is a crucial skill for such a student. Without that ability one would not be able to determine what relationship suits them, what occupation, what practice, what environment, what foods etcetera.

On the path of yoga there are five obstacles Patanjali refers to as Kleshas. Those obstacles (to our own progress) are ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear of death. With this in mind I would not focus on that which is desired nor would I focus on that which is repelled - as both are obstacles. Instead try to remain focused on that which moves YOU closer to self, to source, to light, toward the purpose your soul occupies the physical form.

While there should not be any yoga snobbery nor any superior yoga, bear in mind that some practices are more risky than others. Generally speaking, the first practice you mention comes with some physical risk while the second comes with some mental and emotional risk, especially if you are of a vatta constitution.

But it is purely up to you to find and pursue your own path.

#6

“You just need to be clear on WHY you want to change, not IF you should do so”

In addition to very good posts by Jenn and InnerAthlete, I want to say something about the above observation.

Childofthetao is actually not changing!! The moving away from one type of practice to another is more a reflection of unwillingness to change oneself. Yoga implies change. Yoga practice needs flexing, stretching and posturing as never before. Yoga is no gym where one watches TV while working out. Yoga needs mind to give up seeking comfort zones and to hold hands with the body for a while. Yoga requires regulated breathing that is otherwise left to itself. Yoga cleanse the inner self, rejuvnates it but is very slow to manifest the change, as compared to the muscles and curves.

Such a change is resisted by the unwilling body and hindrances (kleshas) is the result. For dealing with them, Patanjali recommends in sutra II.10:
? know the hindrances subtly
? create an opposing mental attitude

It is not Ashtanga vs Kundalini. It is about the inner self. Why one wants Yoga? What is one ready to give up to make room for it? Is there real passion or cosmetic interest? Is there patience or anxious result-orientation? Is it for oneself or to show to the world? The roots are in these subtle drivers.

Habits come in the way of change. So, effort should be to make Yoga a habit and push it until that happens. It will put any opposing thoughts to rest. Eventually, Yoga’s experienced benefits will preempt the excuses and aversion. Yoga is union and that happens at many levels and in many ways. Earnest desire will unite with the right type of Yoga, sooner or later. Besides, Yoga’s time has to come in one’s life.

#7

It wasn’t until yesterday, when I really thought about quitting, that the reasons really hit me. I really hate being faced with certain aspects of my self. For example (I forget it’s name), the yoga pose that is shown in the logo at the top of this screen. I can not ground my sit bones and also in many others. I really hate that about my body, I don’t know if you can imagine being so permanently ungrounded as to never be able to ground ones sit-bones.

There are several other tensions in me, like around the very top of thighs, in my wrists, my very first vinyasa is always painful on my wrists (but immediately ceases).

I hate being faced with my tiny lung capacity, I do breathe rather quickly because If I do ujayi breath then I’m faced with the tension in my shoulders/neck/head.

I recently have developed a mild ache at the bottom of my spine, I have tension there too and think it might be because I am slowly “breaking into” it.

The main thing though is that I feel I am simply being shown all these things I hate about me, and that ashtanga is not actually curing them, I want to able to sit comfortably in my body, grounded so I can focus, maybe even read a book without falling asleep.

Another thing, I don’t get physically tired from doing my practise, it doesn’t make me out of breathe I actually find it rather easy to do. It’s before and in the first half, I get very tired somehow, and also bored, it makes me not want to do it. Because I feel I am not progressing, there are quite a few poses that simply are not improving, I’ve been practising for about a year now.

Thank you all for the advice.

#8

Hi

Are you eating well and drinking enough? I’m a vegan runner and got into ashtanga about 12 months ago. Took me a while, but I found that the times I felt depleted (mentally and physically), were when I’d not hydrated properly. The effects of this on a long run and a yoga practice are pretty evident, but most of the time, it wasn’t the first thing I thought about.

These days I try to get through about 3 litres of water each day and I’m feeling much better for it. Check the dehydration, rehydration article on Katie Courts’ “Yoga-Nut.co.uk” website - (I’m not allowed to include a link because I’ve not posted 15 times on the forum, sorry.)

#9

[QUOTE=childofthetao;66206]Hello everyone, I having a bit of a dilemma with my yoga practice and am think of quitting it (Ashtanga) and moving on to something less intense like kundalini yoga.[/QUOTE]Hope you will find real Kundalini yoga.