Knowing when to hold it, when to fold it, when to let go
"Push, push, PUSH!"
Your teacher's voice is pushing you into those bends and twists just outside your comfort zone.
Is she pushing you forward or pushing your buttons?
There is a Sanskrit word that describes how to push on: “krama” which means, "step-by-step."
Step by step is a good mantra for life
But what do you do when you are so overwhelmed with stuff o do that you cannot imagine doing one thing, one step at time? You eithermulti-task or become paralyzed in place.
How to move forward? Take the next logical step.
That's how it works. Breathe. Focus. Make a wrong move? Correct and continue. Struggling? That's what's holding you back.
So what's the trick to balancing yourself, in hot yoga and in life?
The Yoga Sutras, the Big Book of Yoga, says the goal of asana is to reach nirodhaha samskara, a deep place beyond the fluctuations of the mind,where you feel calm, alert, balanced.
And you can't get there from here - "here" being your usual, hurry-up-and-get-it-done life.
Nirodhaha samskara can be only achieved by 100% focus You've heard us say, "Follow our instructions to the best of your ability and you'll get 100% of the benefits." Your job: focus. Practice giving each pose your full attention, taking the steps your teacher guides you to, and please, please, please, just one step at a time.
What's the rush? In asana, if you're rushing ahead, you're heading into a world of hurt, also known as vyuthanna samskara, that state when the body, breath, mind, personality or emotions are agitated. You feel overwhelmed. Underappreciated. Generally pissed off.
Sound familiar?
In this state, your prana - your vital life force - is said to be disturbed and may even result in prana prakopa, or angry prana.
Angry yoga
The room's too hot! That student beside me smells! The teacher is talking too much!
Breathe. This is yoga. You chose to be here. Now have some fun.
Hot 26 yoga is best taken easy. Yes, give it 100% focus. Yes, give each pose all your effort. Yes, go easy on ourself. What's the rush? Mastering this hot yoga sequence begins by taking it step by step, one pose after another preparoing you for ever-more challenging asanas without injury and anger.
Because no one wants to leave hot yoga angry. Then you end up yelling at the Comcast customer service rep because somehow it's her fault that you've been on hold for a whole 2 minutes. You may flip off the guy cruising down the road in the left lane. And all that hot yoga has just been negated.
Don't sweat the sweat; it's all adding up for you.
The hot yoga sequence climaxes in Camel and Rabbit poses. the two asanas for maximum stretch and curl of spine - they're even called The Climax Poses. Don't skip any of the steps leading up to them. If you "take a pose off" in Savasana (that IS a pose), you're still on the path, taking your next logical step. The preparatory poses - the forward and backward bends of the standing series, the back strengthening floor poses - will ensure that you're ready for a climax as fulfilling as you deserve.
You're not here to be a yoga champion; you're here to be the hero of your own life.
And no one is cheering for you more than us, your loving Riverflow hot yoga teachers. Relax; every step you take, we'll be watching you.
Rhonda Uretzky, E-RYT
Reader Comments (8)
How to move forward? One breath at a time. Change is good. The way I see it is when you are in your pose and you are doing it to best of you today. You are reaching to the ceiling opening, lifting your chest and then you see the mirror on the back wall. Then you hear change. It is often said softly and you release all the blood rushes to the right places. Change is so good, so refreshing, and so beneficial. Therefore, release and take another breath. Move forward with a smile.
Well said, Alfia
being so overwhelmed and paralyzed in place was a feeling too familiar to me last year. that was before i started hot yoga. i feel the subtle changes that have occurred in a short time... i no longer get paralyzed with fear, curl up in a ball and say "i'lll do it later". that was my was my way to deal with a lot of stuff at home, in my relationships and so on. every class is a challenge and every pose is a step to complete the class. lately the classes have been feeling like they are only 30 mins long, and my hurry up and get it over with mentality is dwindling. even though the class feels shorter than the 90 mins each pose is done with 100% effort. i am learning to take my time, do what needs to be done one step at a time whether its yoga or life.
It is amazing how classes don't feel as long as they are when you approach them with a focus absent of "hurry-up-and-get-it-done," so true Danielle. I feel this is because we let ourselves slip effortlessly into the rhythm of the moment, and our conscious thoughts lift from us as we connect body and self in a continuous stream of motion that we give 100% of ourselves to...step by step. Breath by breath.
What a beautiful thing - nirodhaha samskara - a deep place beyond the fluctuations of the mind,where you feel calm, alert, balanced. A place impossible to reach from where you stand if you stand in vyuthanna samskara ("that state when the body, breath, mind, personality or emotions are agitated. You feel overwhelmed. Underappreciated. Generally pissed off"). Standing in agitation, insecurity, impatience, overwhelm, stress, anger, shallow breath, you will not be able to go into the pose of nirodhaha samskara. Just like if you were standing in such a way on the mat, you would be imbalanced, poorly breathing, angry and unfocused, and you would not be able to go from that place into the peace of a pose given 100% of you.
Calm. Alert. Balanced. This is the feeling i attain when I give all of myself to the graceful step-by-step stream of motion of hot yoga. When I leave all the world behind me, beyond the glass doors of the studio, and make space for just myself and prana and connection with the rest of life in the room with me. When we lay in final Savasana, I love when the teacher sometimes says something to the tune of "This is you, as you breathe here, in and out, calm and peaceful and steeped in oneness, this is your human nature. This is who you are."
Danielle and Grace - what you are both describing is what it feels like to be in the present moment. Think of the present moment as that 99% empty space where there is only endless possibility and complete freedom. You are not ever feeling "stuck" when you are in the present - freedom is the opposite of stuck - so Danielle, your "stuck" feeling, should it ever return, is a wonderful signal letting you know that you are not in the present moment. So come back! Ah, that feels wonderful!
Once you start watching the clock or thinking about what you have to do after class, you're no longer "there" to experience the fantastic present. Ding - reminder bell!
No worries. It's an easy fix: feel better, feel better, feel better.
How does feeling better - about anything -bring you back? Remember- the feeling comes first and then the manifestation. Since the present moment always feels good, if you want to be in the present moment, all you need to do is enter the feeling-good place - about anything at all and - you're in!
egg rolls, anyone?
BTW - Grace I notice how often you use the adjective "graceful" to describe what you want for yourself. You already are Grace-ful, yes?
Push, push, push - Change...
Is your teacher pushing your forward or pushing your buttons? It depends on which one you choose.
Set your intentions and 100% focus. Remember what is important and what is just "small staff' (surrounding noise). Look into your own eyes: focus and precision, follow your heart, you know the truth. You need to explain or prove nothing. Be in your Vortex, go deeper, breathe, remember who you are and stick to your guts. It will all unfold magnificently well. Trust me on this one.
I just found an amazing saying: "You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true", Richard Bach. Therefore, push, push, push - the dream is there and it is for real. Always, move forward gracefully and with a smile. My Teacher Training experience is absolutely magnificent!
i like that "push push push... dream!" sometimes i get stuck... not in my poses but in life and to think that a dream is something you can make a reality is very powerful.