For Christmas I received one of the new Ladybird books. It's called "Mindfulness". It's so funny I really did laugh out loud. Here's one of my favourite pages:
It is obviously very important to take care of your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing - after all, no-one else is going to do it for you. But it's easy to take it all way too seriously. Sometimes in our yoga practice we get caught up with the ego and the desire for the practice to be "perfect". This creates tension in the body and agitation in the mind as we strive to control, rather than relax and let go.
Here's an article from Shannon Brady at www.andpausehere.com to help you light up and lighten up your practice, plus a couple of extra thoughts from me at the end of it:
4 Ways To Make Your Yoga Practice More Fun
A student raced up to me after my class recently with an expression of dread on her face: “My calorie counter says I only burned 200! How can that be?” While I too, doubted the readout on the little device attached to her tights after a challenging 90-minute flow in a hot room, I paused long enough to carefully consider my response, which was something along the gentler lines of “ditch that silly thing already.”
Because really, what good does counting calories burned in a yoga practice do for the heart? The soul? The mind? Nada, I say. But speaking from experience, this is far easier said than done. I used to analyze the hell out of every physical endeavor I partook in. Here’s how I did it, and why I stopped:
1. You Win Or You Suck Mentality
During my hardcore running days (pre-yoga), I spent years tracking numbers in a futile attempt to improve my performance. Training runs were only successful if I kept the pace under 8-minute miles. Races were only worth bragging about if placed top ten in my age group. And these were supposed to be fun runs. Not races. An aggravated Achilles’ tendon begging for a gentler pace forced me to slow it down or rupture it permanently. As a result, I began running without a watch. Without a race bib. And without any concern whatsoever who was ahead of or behind me. And I learned that winning isn’t everything. These were some of the most enjoyable runs of my life.
2. X Number Of Handstand Attempts = Success Formula
Years ago, once I decided to nail this pose, I started recording the number of fly-ups into the wall into a journal. I gave myself one year to ‘succeed’ at this pose. Surely 50 a day ought to do it, right? At the end of that one year – you probably guessed it – I was still flying up into the wall. Initially angry and discouraged, I thought about the many reminders my teachers gave me to stop judging my practice. So that’s what I did.
Letting go of the journal, and the need to ‘succeed’ has made my handstand journey a far more pleasant one. And so what if I hit the wall? Life leads us into walls all the time. Our work is to simply face it head on and keep going.
3. My Hand Goes Here While My Big Toe Goes There, And Meanwhile My Left Femur Bone Is Spiraling Skyward
And on it goes, picking apart every minute detail of a pose while inwardly criticizing my inability to get every piece of it ‘right’. Yes of course it is important to concentrate and refine yoga postures – I constantly encourage my students to – but it is equally important to let go and flow. Finding the balance between the two is the yogi’s challenge and reward to keep the journey safe and fun.
4. Gotta Have A Goal
Countless times along the path to adulthood I was encouraged to set and achieve goals – in school, on the job, toward an athletic or artistic endeavor. And while there’s certainly a place for this (plunking down a couple grand on tuition means you really ought to set a goal to graduate), yoga is one place I try to let that go – no goals, no expectations – just an opportunity to play. Like my childhood memories of recess, when it’s time to practice a new or advanced pose, I approach the mat the same way I raced to the monkey bars when the bell rang – with a sense of thrill at moving my body in new and exciting ways.
So take some time to reflect on your overall experience on the mat. Are numbers, goals, expectations and comparisons to others sucking the joy out of it? If so, lighten up and just go with your own sweet flow and enjoy the ride. You’ll be glad you did.
And here's my 'two pennies' worth' that might help to add a smile to your Sphynx pose:
When you fall out of Warrior 3 pose for the third time in as many minutes, remember it's not a competition - not with the other yogis in the class and not with yourself. Some days you'll be balancing like a graceful flamingo and other days it just won't be happening for you and you might feel more like a turkey. Balancing poses can cause a lot of frustration (at least in my experience) but it's ok. Really, it doesn't matter. Really. What does matter is that you gather yourself with as little mental disturbance as possible and step back up again. This is how we learn, repeating the difficult things over and over again until we become more adept. So next time you're having a wobbly day and fall out of that balancing pose (again!), lift the corners of your mouth, put the ego to one side and don't give yourself a hard time - remember, it's only yoga.
Practice yoga with a friend every now and then. In a class situation most people are there to step back away from the noise and busy-ness of their day and have a little quiet time, so it's not appropriate to have a lot of interaction (you tend to get more of that at a workshop than a class) but sometimes it's good to do some partner work and have a bit of communication with each other. And it can be fun too. We did partner work at some of my classes this week and we had a bit of a laugh and (I hope) everyone enjoyed it! You can't take yoga too seriously if you practice with children either. They find it all so funny and will have you laughing too at the things they say and do. If you have children around you in your life, invite them to join you and see what unfolds.
Because really, what good does counting calories burned in a yoga practice do for the heart? The soul? The mind? Nada, I say. But speaking from experience, this is far easier said than done. I used to analyze the hell out of every physical endeavor I partook in. Here’s how I did it, and why I stopped:
1. You Win Or You Suck Mentality
During my hardcore running days (pre-yoga), I spent years tracking numbers in a futile attempt to improve my performance. Training runs were only successful if I kept the pace under 8-minute miles. Races were only worth bragging about if placed top ten in my age group. And these were supposed to be fun runs. Not races. An aggravated Achilles’ tendon begging for a gentler pace forced me to slow it down or rupture it permanently. As a result, I began running without a watch. Without a race bib. And without any concern whatsoever who was ahead of or behind me. And I learned that winning isn’t everything. These were some of the most enjoyable runs of my life.
2. X Number Of Handstand Attempts = Success Formula
Years ago, once I decided to nail this pose, I started recording the number of fly-ups into the wall into a journal. I gave myself one year to ‘succeed’ at this pose. Surely 50 a day ought to do it, right? At the end of that one year – you probably guessed it – I was still flying up into the wall. Initially angry and discouraged, I thought about the many reminders my teachers gave me to stop judging my practice. So that’s what I did.
Letting go of the journal, and the need to ‘succeed’ has made my handstand journey a far more pleasant one. And so what if I hit the wall? Life leads us into walls all the time. Our work is to simply face it head on and keep going.
3. My Hand Goes Here While My Big Toe Goes There, And Meanwhile My Left Femur Bone Is Spiraling Skyward
And on it goes, picking apart every minute detail of a pose while inwardly criticizing my inability to get every piece of it ‘right’. Yes of course it is important to concentrate and refine yoga postures – I constantly encourage my students to – but it is equally important to let go and flow. Finding the balance between the two is the yogi’s challenge and reward to keep the journey safe and fun.
4. Gotta Have A Goal
Countless times along the path to adulthood I was encouraged to set and achieve goals – in school, on the job, toward an athletic or artistic endeavor. And while there’s certainly a place for this (plunking down a couple grand on tuition means you really ought to set a goal to graduate), yoga is one place I try to let that go – no goals, no expectations – just an opportunity to play. Like my childhood memories of recess, when it’s time to practice a new or advanced pose, I approach the mat the same way I raced to the monkey bars when the bell rang – with a sense of thrill at moving my body in new and exciting ways.
So take some time to reflect on your overall experience on the mat. Are numbers, goals, expectations and comparisons to others sucking the joy out of it? If so, lighten up and just go with your own sweet flow and enjoy the ride. You’ll be glad you did.
And here's my 'two pennies' worth' that might help to add a smile to your Sphynx pose:
There's humour all around us - Paul Joynson-Hicks set up the Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards because he learned through his own photography that there's a real art to capturing comic moments in the animal kingdom on camera. He says "I often enter wildlife photography competitions (NB so far with very little success!) but I love seeing the funny pictures. Strangely enough, they are harder to come by than you might think."
These are the finalists:
Megan Lorenz/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Charlie Davidson/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Alison Buttigieg/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
William Richardson/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Graham McGeorge/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Marc Mol/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Oliver Dreike/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Julian Rad/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Tony Dilger/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
And the winner?
Julian Rad/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
The Tanzania-based competition is partnered with the Born Free Foundation to raise awareness of conservation issues and offers a safari holiday as first prize - so get snapping for next year
Here's this weeks healthy and simple recipe - Aubergine Al Forno. It's from Jamie Oliver at www.jamieoliver.com.
To serve 4 (I used half measures again for a serving for 2)
You will need:
Method
Place the aubergine slices in a sturdy oven-proof pan. Brush lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle over the cinnamon and a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the spring onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes. Put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Once it’s all softened and charred, add a splash of vinegar.
In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, pine nuts, raisins, a pinch each of cinnamon, salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle this over the aubergines and cook for 5–10 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
And finally, a video of one woman's home practice with her toddler .... I don't think I would have been quite so patient....
These are the finalists:
Julian Rad/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Alnaser/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Megan Lorenz/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSCharlie Davidson/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSAlison Buttigieg/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSWilliam Richardson/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSGraham McGeorge/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSMarc Mol/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSOliver Dreike/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSJulian Rad/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSTony Dilger/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSJulian Rad/COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSThe Tanzania-based competition is partnered with the Born Free Foundation to raise awareness of conservation issues and offers a safari holiday as first prize - so get snapping for next year
Here's this weeks healthy and simple recipe - Aubergine Al Forno. It's from Jamie Oliver at www.jamieoliver.com.
To serve 4 (I used half measures again for a serving for 2)
You will need:
- 3 aubergines , cut into 1cm slices
- olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon , plus an extra pinch
- 4 spring onions , finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- a large handful of cherry tomatoes on the vine
- red wine vinegar
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 50 g pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- extra virgin olive oil
Method
Place the aubergine slices in a sturdy oven-proof pan. Brush lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle over the cinnamon and a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the spring onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes. Put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Once it’s all softened and charred, add a splash of vinegar.
In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, pine nuts, raisins, a pinch each of cinnamon, salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle this over the aubergines and cook for 5–10 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
 |
| One more from the Ladybird book :-) |
And finally, a video of one woman's home practice with her toddler .... I don't think I would have been quite so patient....
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