Two months ago, before I went "on vacation" I could do Eka Pada Koundinyasana......at least somewhat. Now I can't. Our practice went there yesterday and it just didn't happen at all.....
First, "on vacation"......I did leave home for 3 weeks and I did visit family and friends and had fun with my family. It was a lot of work. It was a lot of driving. There was very little opportunity for me to get on my mat.
Second, Eka Pada Koundinyasana.... this is a not too difficult arm balance but it was impressive to me. Here is an opportunity for me to be honest with myself. Practicing yoga changed my life, in fact saved my life, long before I could do one single arm balance.....long before I could press up into Urdhva Dhanurasana.......long before I could place my palms on the floor by my feet. The honest truth is that it doesn't matter what poses a yogi can do. It doesn't matter how far a yogi can come into a pose. It doesn't matter HOW a person practices the linking of body, breath and mind.
To value a yoga practice by what we can perform is like adding legs to a snake....... they are appendages that it doesn't need........could possibly get in the way......
Yoga practice is completely individual and has to be tailored to each body. As yogis we get to feel each pose in our body and use it for our health. Sure, there are textbook instructions for all poses AND with those instructions we all modify to our own body .... in it's current state.
My body is currently in it's post vacation state and that is a fact of now....... Fortunately, that has no bearing on anything! My yoga practice brings me to center, to present, to now and to possibility and that is more than sufficient.
First, "on vacation"......I did leave home for 3 weeks and I did visit family and friends and had fun with my family. It was a lot of work. It was a lot of driving. There was very little opportunity for me to get on my mat.
Second, Eka Pada Koundinyasana.... this is a not too difficult arm balance but it was impressive to me. Here is an opportunity for me to be honest with myself. Practicing yoga changed my life, in fact saved my life, long before I could do one single arm balance.....long before I could press up into Urdhva Dhanurasana.......long before I could place my palms on the floor by my feet. The honest truth is that it doesn't matter what poses a yogi can do. It doesn't matter how far a yogi can come into a pose. It doesn't matter HOW a person practices the linking of body, breath and mind.
To value a yoga practice by what we can perform is like adding legs to a snake....... they are appendages that it doesn't need........could possibly get in the way......
Yoga practice is completely individual and has to be tailored to each body. As yogis we get to feel each pose in our body and use it for our health. Sure, there are textbook instructions for all poses AND with those instructions we all modify to our own body .... in it's current state.
My body is currently in it's post vacation state and that is a fact of now....... Fortunately, that has no bearing on anything! My yoga practice brings me to center, to present, to now and to possibility and that is more than sufficient.
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