Still moving

How ironic that this title is "Still Moving". It did not occur to me as anything more than meaning still moving along, but as I started to write the first sentence I realized that it can be interpreted as still moving, "being still or appearing to be still but moving within stillness". Wow, what a thought for today. I'll have to remember that.

I have just finished Section 1 and an starting the next which is "The Eight-Limbed Path". This section is about Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.

Yama, niyama, asana and pranayama are external practices which can be taught. Pratyahara and dharana are internal practices which must be experienced individually. The last 2 limbs are the innermost practices which occur as a result of grace.

Our yoga yesterday was "Yin Yoga" and is very different to what we have been practicing on the mat, Yang yoga [or muscular yoga]. The focus of yin yoga is to practice poses which stretch the connective tissue. These poses are done with the muscles relaxed and should be held for a long time because sonnective tissue does not stretch like muscle nor does it respond to brief stresses. It also is a good preparation for meditation.

Some information about Yin Yoga from http://www.yinyoga.com/ys2_1.0_how_to_practice.php. This is a very informative site, visit it if you desire.

The Three Tattvas of Yin Yoga Practice

A tattva is the reality of a thing, or its category or principal nature. Sarah Powers offers us three very simple and very effective principles for the yin practice.

Come into the pose to an appropriate depth
Resolve to remain still
Hold the pose for time

Remembering these three principles as you practice will simplify everything. Knowing when to practice is a different matter.

Yin Yoga deliberately targets the deeper connective tissues. To be most effective we want the muscles to be relaxed. If the muscles are warm and active they will tend to absorb most of the tension of the stretch.

When we do our Yin Yoga practice early in the morning, the muscles have not yet woken up; this is why we feel so stiff when we first wake up. In the same way, doing our yin practice before an active yang practice allows the stretching to settle deeper into our tissues.

By the end of the day our muscles have been warmed up and are at their longest. The physical benefits of a yin practice will be fewer at this time; however, the psychological benefits may be greater.

The daytime is yang. A yin practice, before going to sleep, may balance this energy. Similarly the spring and summer are yang times of year. When life is busy, when we spend many hours traveling, these are all yang times of our life. Balance is achieved when we cultivate yin energies.

During a woman's menstrual period she may naturally find a yin practice beneficial. On the other side of the coin, a yin practice is not recommended when we have already been very placid. After sitting at a desk for eight hours in the dead of a dull winter's day, a more active practice may create balance much better than a yin practice. Listening to your inner guide may give you the best answer to the question: is this a time for yin or yang?

A word of wisdom: Going further is a sign of ego; it is not doing yoga. Staying where you are is embracing yin.

Today, Sunday is our first group class. It is from 1PM to 5 PM and will include practice, vigorous we have been informed, clinic and then lecture and learning time. It will be intense for sure but good.

The class yesterday was our entry onto the eight-limbed path, the first being ahimsa: non-harming, compassion. First one has to practice ahimsa toward oneself. That means stop that negative self-chatter that is so poisoning. I find that I do that more than I am conscious of. I was reading in the book Living Your Yoga by Lasater that she kept a log one day of times she was not practicing ahimsa that day and it added up to more than 60 instances.

It is an important concept to get your head around because our culture makes us think that what we are or what we have is not enough. We have to be faster, thinner, prettier, etc, we are never good enough. I had that beaten into me through my childhood so I know how destructive it can be. I try to stop it every day, sometimes I'm successful, sometimes not, but the more conscious I become of it the more I will be able to stop the chatter before it starts.

Speaking of stopping things, I have become aware of some of my non-Yoga behaviors like impatience, being critical, judgemental, intolerance, and anger. When I catch myself, I correct this and stop it. Yesterday in class, the yogi made the statement that when we are on the edge of anger or about to say something non-yogic, stop, take a breath, observe the situation and your body's reaction, then respond. Sounds easy doesn't it? Harder than it sounds for sure, at least for me.

Namaste