Ramblings On: A Bad Yoga Practice

Some days, my yoga practice comes so natural. I move through vinyasas with ease, I love feeling the sweat roll down my face and back, my breathing is on point, and my mind is focused.  Other days, my yoga practice just plain sucks. Today was one of those days.  I’ve been nursing a painful left rotator cuff since last week and today was the worst of it.  My chaturangas hurt so bad, it was so ridiculous.  My mind was wandering. My breath was off. I kept looking at my phone, wanting time to just hurry up.  It was bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. At the end of my practice, I was so angry with myself and my body.

But, then I realized that that is part of the beauty of yoga.  It shows us where all of our imbalances are.  Our imbalances in our life may show up as an imbalance in our body in the form of an injury or shortened breath.  Yoga teaches us to work through all the junk, all the clutter, and get to the core of our being.  The core of our True Self.   

So, in the end, I know that good practice, bad practice, yoga is the greatest teacher I have ever known, and I learn something new about myself every single day that I step onto my yoga mat. It really is a beautiful thing.

Namaste.

108 Days

On September 1, I started a 108 day journey.  For the next 108 days, I will be practicing yoga, pranayama, and meditation. Every. Single. Day. No matter what. Even if it's just 15 minutes! My personal practice had really fell by the way side with all the teaching I was doing and I could tell, not only physically (I got squishy...haha), but also mentally (I got depressed and angry).  It's only 6 days in and I already feel a lot better.  I'm happier, I'm more even keeled with my reactions to life, and I've cleaned up my diet a lot.  I'm trying to eat better, because all the hard work of yoga and meditation and pranayama won't do jack if I'm stuffing my mouth with soda and twinkies! So, I've cut out all sugary drinks, processed foods, and refined sugars, and I'm just trying to eat as close to the Earth as possible.  I must say, I already feel a lot better, too! My yoga practice is more energetic and focused because I have the energy to sustain a practice without going through any crazy blood sugar crashes.  I've been sleeping a lot better, too.  This is big for me.  I'm a big time insomniac, so for me to say that I'm sleeping well, that's big.  I know that these 108 days will make me a better teacher, too.  Like I've been told by my teachers, and like I tell my students, your practice is your true teacher.  I'm looking forward to following through with this (I'm the queen of starting something and then losing interest..) so that I can feel a real sense of accomplishment.  Plus, why would I quit something that's making me feel so great already?!  Time to go spend 90 minutes with my mat. Namaste, ya'll.

Om Shanti,
Z