Learning to listen to my body more

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Since I’ve started doing yoga more regularly lately I’ve gotten into this competetive mode. Not with anyone else but with myself. I try to reach further, stay longer, do more. That’s not wrong, perhaps, but… isn’t it better to be aware of when it feels the best and stop there. At least for a while. No need to “get better” at a certain asana if it feels great the way I’m doing it now.

Like, both with headstand and shoulderstand I have tried a bit to stand longer and longer. Gradually increasing the stay with about 15 seconds per week. Fine, I don’t think that’s rushing it but the thing is that ?t felt better about three weeks ago, that is at almost one minute less time. So why not stay there for a while, huh?

So, I’m gonna back it off a bit, find that zone where it was better and stop pushing it. No need to push.

#2

Personally, I am always trying to grow, to progress, to improve. Whether it means improving coordination between breath and movement, adding seconds to the time I stay in an asana, correcting my alignment, etc. I don’t think that I am being competitive with myself, I just consider it me teaching my body different things. I like to play my edge, then experience a comfort zone for a while and THEN decide to proceed further. The time I spend in the comfort zone differs with whatever I am focusing on (maybe days, weeks, months). I may need little time in a certain comfort zone with one asana but more time with another asana. Another example is that I may need little time in my comfort zone to coordinate breath with a certain asana but I may need more time in the comfort zone if my focus is improving alignment.

I think that you should only proceed if it feels right. Feeling right may involve comfort or desire or curiosity or something else.

With your example of headstand, maybe you proceeded too fast. Maybe you could try going back to your starting point, adding 15 seconds on week one and then hanging out in that extra 15 second zone until you feel its time to add another 15 seconds. Don’t let the time of day or the day of week or how much time has elapsed from your last 15 second increase dictate when to proceed. Do what feels right.

I also like to keep in mind that I have no specific end point to my self improvement journey. Its more of a continuous process that needs no rushing through.

Enjoy!

#3

I think it’s quite natural to go through that competitive mode. Part of my practice has been to go into resting poses when I need them or if I feel that competitiveness rearing its head.

Good for you evaluating your practice as you are :slight_smile:

#4

[QUOTE=amz155;35476]With your example of headstand, maybe you proceeded too fast. Maybe you could try going back to your starting point, adding 15 seconds on week one and then hanging out in that extra 15 second zone until you feel its time to add another 15 seconds. Don’t let the time of day or the day of week or how much time has elapsed from your last 15 second increase dictate when to proceed. Do what feels right.[/QUOTE]

I think you’re making an excellent point right here.

#5

This analogy may help you.

Compare any asana to a space shuttle launch. The initial struggle is with rigid muscles and joints moving into uncharted territory. That needs little harder push and being competitive will help. But a good teacher will lay out for you and you will start experincing soon, a comfort zone of that asana. Here the rocket has to reduce its push and attention to be more on stabilizing in that zone. Here your competitive mode can transform into a gentle but firm will. Because any harder push will dislodge you from the zone.

Then, will come the pinnacle of the asana, when the booster rocket has to undock and fall away. Here you will be initially only for a brief second, when everything is in perfect alignment, awareness is only of a gentle breath and peace. In this phase, any competitive effort will be self-defeating. Soon you will learn to just hang on there as long as you can and wish.

This 3-phase approach has helped me; hope it will help you too.

#6

Competition is a striving to win. Aspiration is a striving to grow.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with remaining in a pose as long as that remaining is serving your greater good - the bringing of light into your consciousness.

#7

I like to play my edge

 I call this sweet discomfort in class.  Challenging, not staying in status quo, but not over doing it.  This is where I like my students to be.  What I have found in teaching is students who have a plan or goal or desire, whether it's increasing time in a pose, accomplishing a pose or what not, have the most difficulty.  They concentrate too hard on attainment of the goal and miss turning inward, feeling the muscles, feeling the benefit (or not!) linking with the breath and so on.  It is only when they still the mind and allow it to happen are they able move farther.  I'll give an example.  I have a student who, in the beginning, tried very hard to get fully into the poses.  Because of this desire, she wasn't hearing what I was teaching about the pose.  She would often times become frustrated because no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get her leg all the way down in supta padangusthasana.  One day in class a light bulb went off after she saw that another student who had been having difficulty with the pose was able to finally reach her leg to the floor, initially with my assistance.  When she asked the student how she accomplished this, the student answered, " I listened to Lori and I listened to my body.  I stopped trying to reach the floor and in doing that I finally did."  Now the student has a much different approach and has made great strides and feels great.

Sometimes, when we don’t think about what we want and only on what we have or are doing we are able to progress more subtly and steadily. Resist the urge to add time. Just hang out in a pose until you reach that “sweet discomfort” zone. Very insightful of you to have ?'d this.

Good luck!