Thursday, May 2, 2013

On keeping the practice at a good clip

I thought I'll write a quick post about the state of my practice, even though I really don't have too much to say about it. The last couple of days haven't been the best, energy-wise: Yesterday morning, in particular, I actually felt a little tired and run-down during practice, especially during the standing postures. But I kind of just noted the run-down feeling in my mind (Run-down feeling: Check!), and then went on with the rest of the practice anyway (full primary and second up to Supta Vajrasana). When I looked at my cellphone at the end of practice, I saw that the whole thing had taken just an hour and thirty-two minutes. Not bad for feeling tired and run-down ;-)

I have this habit of looking at the time at the end of practice (just before taking rest) to see how long my practice on any given day takes. Sometimes, this makes me feel like I'm running some kind of marathon. But I think there is something to be said for keeping the practice at a good clip. I mean, you certainly don't want to rush the breath unduly just to have a speedy practice. But you also don't want the practice to be so leisurely that you open yourself up to temptations to faff or obsess about particular postures, or do other things that are extraneous to the practice. Hence it is a good idea to try to maintain a certain pace and to keep the practice at a good clip. Kristen recently blogged about how it's a good idea to do led primary to Sharath's video (actually, I think it doesn't have to be Sharath; any teacher who counts consistently would do the trick) so that one can be sure one is keeping up the pace. Can't agree more. I do Sharath's led CD at least once a week, and I think this has a positive impact on my pace during the rest of the week as well. I still tend to give myself extra breaths to get into certain poses (Mari D, for instance), but by and large, I feel that, with Sharath's count in the back of my mind as the template, I am much less likely to faff or to obsess over this or that posture. I just do whatever I have to do in the present moment in accordance with the vinyasa count as best as I can, then move on to the next thing. As it is with the practice, so it is with life.    

10 comments:

  1. Hi Nobel! Not sure if you read Tim's Tuesday blog, but this might be the reason for lack of energy? http://timmiller.typepad.com/blog/2013/04/tuesday-april-30th.html
    Anyway..have a great day! Lilli

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    1. Hello Lilli,
      just read Tim's blog. Hmm... interesting. Well, at least I did not have to send out a May Day distress call yesterday :-)

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  2. I dont know why all those spaces are there.....Lilli

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  3. Spaces on my first comment, 2nd line?

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  4. Thank you, it is spooky how similar our practice, and our feelings are, especially the lack luster/tired feeling. I also look at the clock.

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    1. Maybe it does something to do with the movements and positions of the planets...

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  5. Hey there. Got the idea of using the Sharath video as a metronome for home practice from reading you over the years, by the way, so thanks for the tip. I also have Kino's video, and she also keeps it moving. My only problem is that I am so accustomed to practicing at home alone that it is often hard / distracting to try to pay attention to someone else's count - no matter who it is. (Also they are both fantastic to watch and so I have to position the video at a point where I can only hear and am not tempted to just stop and watch). I'm going to have to work on all that if I ever intend to practice in Mysore, and I do so intend. PS - I'm feeling a little less sheepish or uncool about putting together a Yoga and Running workshop last year after reading your even more recent post on the smart people thing. Wow. "Yoga is for everybody." - SKPJ I feel the real truth of this statement more and more every day.

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    1. I'm very humbled and honored by the fact that you got the idea of using Sharath's video as a metronome from me :-) Actually, the nice thing about using Sharath as a metronome is that unlike Kino, he doesn't actually look that elegant when performing asanas; as Grimmly recently noted, Sharath's method is efficient ("just get the job done") but not terribly pretty. So, unlike with Kino, the temptation to stop and gawk is a lot less :-)

      P.S. SKPJ: "Old man, stiff man, weak man, sick man, all can take practice. Only lazy man cannot take practice."

      Something tells me that SKPJ would also include stupid people among those who can take practice :-)

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