Day 17...WOW. I can't believe 17 days have gone already. I've really eased into enjoying daily practice. It's no longer arduous or an effort. If I'm tired before class, it wakes me up. If I'm stressed, it relaxes me. If I don't feel like going, I feel glad I did afterwards. I really hope I can continue to fit in as much yoga as this after the challenge. I suspect it will be hard to continue with daily practice, as I've sacrificed certain things, and walked out of work earlier than I should have several times, but I might be able to keep up 6 times a week.
Today in class I was thinking about the ego. There were two new guys there today. Their first class. They were BIG burly guys. They looked like maybe boxers, or rugby players. Obviously physically fit, but they'd never done Bikram Yoga before.
Well they were trying to do everything. Even going into advanced stages of the postures, even when the teacher was telling them not to. It was obvious they were struggling. I shouldn't have been paying attention really, but they were right behind me, so a couple of times when the teacher was talking to them, I could see what was going on in the mirror. She even sat down with them for the second set of Fixed Firm, demonstrated the first part of the posture, and told them not to go back. She said "I know you're strong but stay in the first part" and they still went back, obviously in pain!
It was kind of funny to watch. Not in a mean way. I wasn't laughing at them. But the ego is a funny thing, and this made me think about it. I remember doing the same thing in the beginning, and really it's silly, because pushing yourself further than you should doesn't makes you progress any quicker. The postures can look so pretty when done well, and of course it's not hard to understand why you would want to try to look like that. If anything though, it might cause an injury if you end up sacrificing alignment for depth.
At some point you'll have to go back to the stage where you're doing the posture correctly, and that might feel like you're taking a step back. So you might as well just do it the right way in the first place, so that you can get to the more advanced stage sooner, rather than doing it wrong for ages. I know it took me a while to understand that in the beginning...
About Me
- Shabs
- Traveling yogini...on the road visiting South, Central and North America until August 2010 when I will end up in Australia. Trying to do some yoga along the way!
5 comments:
I'm liking your blog.
That's a classic beginner mistake, but its not just for beginners only. Sacrificing form for depth happens at all stages. I've see teachers showing off the first backbend who give it a little extra by bending the knees. I'm continually finding little cheats and compromises that I make without even being aware of them.
I'll be interested to hear whether these guys come back or not. For the most part, I've noticed that the people in the best shape are the ones who get beaten up most. On top of that, its the people who think that they SHOULD be able to do the pose who end up being most frustrated and offended as beginners.
Me like, too. :)
Everything that you say here is soooooo true, and I agree with Duffy that it happens at EVERY stage of the practice, though it is the most blatantly obvious in the beginning. It's a constant cycle! You progress, you get something going on that feels good, you get used it it, you get a habit, then somebody fixes you and WHOOPS, back you go again, back to where you were last month or last year even, and just work the whole thing through all over again. It is not linear... but fortunately it's not a race!!
Thanks for your comments guys-I appreciate them! I did not even realise anyone had left a comment until now...I'm still new to the whole blog thing :)
You are both right that it's not just beginners that make this mistake. It's more immediately obvious to me when I see a beginner doing it, as it's easier to spot visually. But it's absolutely important to be aware of your form, even (maybe even more so) if you've been doing it a long time. I notice on days when I'm particularly tired that I have to pay more attention to that, as I have been known to get lazy at those times!
Duffy-I have not seen them come back yet, but I will be keeping an eye out for them!
FYI, there's something in blogger (somewhere...) that you can set up to send you an email everytime someone leaves you a comment. Much more efficient than compulsively checking all your blog entries... hehe. ;)
Ah yes, I've updated that now. I'd actually thought it was on by default before. Thanks! :)
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