I am at a crossroads!
I have studied Iyengar yoga for the past year and decided to try other practices.One was with a indian yogi who was advertising ‘Hot Yoga’.Although not exactly Bikram it as a whole , a much more spirtual practice.The heat is an aside.The postures are not inspected or monitored noticeably.Indeed the Yogi is in his eighties and can barely do some of the postures himself now.However he is inspirational and quite endearing gentleman.
The other is with a German Ashtanga yoga teacher.This is entirely different!
At 47 years old male I feel I may be too late to attempt this form of yoga.The dynamic and powerful nature is a little off daunting.It would be a very long road to travel.
I also decided to look into pranyama!I wish I hadn’t!!It seems so complex and incredibly subtle.
I have a problem with some of the subtle bandhas!!
I love yoga but I am now feeling pulled in many different directions and I feel I need to focus on something/one thing!
Any advice or similar experiences out there?
I hope others will read your post as it illustrates how muddled multiple practices can be for the consciousness of the student. That is not to say that diversity isn’t important. It is. And there are many brands of yoga available today so the choosing has become magnified.
I think my teacher’s words are far more powerful than my own. View the video and see if it might be helpful. If not, please return here and I’ll effort to respond directly.
Thank you for that!It was very useful
I fully understand we each have to find our own path.However I would imagine that I would have to spen a great deal of time and devotion to each ‘style’ before being able to assess which one allows me to connect with my spirit and not my ego.
I feel resentful of wasting time when there is so much to learn.I fear that some forms of yoga are not genuine and merely cater for modern Western tastes and lifestyles.
The idealism is clear but the practical application is ,alas,not!
[quote=urga;13066]I am at a crossroads!
I have studied Iyengar yoga for the past year and decided to try other practices.One was with a indian yogi who was advertising ‘Hot Yoga’.Although not exactly Bikram it as a whole , a much more spirtual practice.The heat is an aside.The postures are not inspected or monitored noticeably.Indeed the Yogi is in his eighties and can barely do some of the postures himself now.However he is inspirational and quite endearing gentleman.
The other is with a German Ashtanga yoga teacher.This is entirely different!
At 47 years old male I feel I may be too late to attempt this form of yoga.The dynamic and powerful nature is a little off daunting.It would be a very long road to travel.
I also decided to look into pranyama!I wish I hadn’t!!It seems so complex and incredibly subtle.
I have a problem with some of the subtle bandhas!!
I love yoga but I am now feeling pulled in many different directions and I feel I need to focus on something/one thing!
Any advice or similar experiences out there?[/quote]
Hey there urga,
Glad to hear you’re befuddled. Why? Because when we start to question our path is when growth begins to happen. Which style should you choose? Ultimately, that doesn’t matter one bit. Go with the teacher that makes you feel good. Go with the least resistance. If Ashtanga (my personal favorite) makes you feel like an old man, then by all means, give it up! If Iyengar makes you feel restricted, then what’s the point of doing it? There are many many different styles of yoga, but one is not better than the other. What matters is how you feel at the end of class. It matters that you enjoy the teaching.
Also, two things you said made me think - “a long road to travel” and “I need to focus on one thing.” Excuse me, but who really cares how long it takes you to get somewhere - and… where exactly are you headed?? Yoga is in the path. Life is in the path. There is no end result (other than death!). Take as many classes as you want, mix up styles, go with different instructors… but enjoy what you learn! One day, you may find that one style really pulls you - and that you don’t feel the need to go attend other classes, or to learn from other teachers. That’s when you can start to really focus. But you’ll know inside when that day comes. No need to rush it.
Liane Carmi
yoga.purplebearproductions.net
[quote=urga;13103]Thank you for that!It was very useful
I fully understand we each have to find our own path.However I would imagine that I would have to spen a great deal of time and devotion to each ‘style’ before being able to assess which one allows me to connect with my spirit and not my ego.
I feel resentful of wasting time when there is so much to learn.I fear that some forms of yoga are not genuine and merely cater for modern Western tastes and lifestyles.
The idealism is clear but the practical application is ,alas,not![/quote]
Urga,
I’m not sure I agree with your premises. But of course it matters not if I agree.
You already have a sense of which practice is resonating for you, on several levels. It needn’t take a great deal of time. You go, you take, you feel, you determine. That is as pragmatic as I can make it. It can be very very obvious when a practice is not moving the student toward [I]svadharma[/I] or personal purpose (for being here).
Resentment will leave when the student accepts that there is a higher blueprint than their own. But I understand that feeling and have had it many times myself. “Why couldn’t I have found Aadil when I was 20”. But the experience would have been far different as both Aadil and I had growing to do. So we are in the perfect spot when we can acknowledge the bigger picture.
I was just this afternoon having a conversation with my Yoga Buddy, Susan, about the nature of what is left in the student after the practice.
Yoga is not the feeling of euphoria, alive, alert, energized nor is it the feeling of sedate, sleepiness, or woo-woo. Both can be part of yoga and therefore neither, in and of itself, is yoga. They are merely experiences of note. Therefore we cannot effectively use either (alone) as a barometer.
A yoga practice that doesn’t churn up a bit of your muck and only makes you feel tickled mandates some deeper evaluation.
But you are right, focus or concentration is an incredibly relevant component of yoga which is perhaps why Patanjali includes it in the Eight Limbs. Students can be very well served by such focus, presuming it doesn’t grow into dogma.
If you like heat and a fast pace there are several yoga’s to look at. If you do not then there are other yogas. If you find empowerment in alignment then look at alignment-based yoga. If you are more concerned about the fast track to enlightenment, there is yoga that promises that as well.