Good day, Steemians!
Do your practice and all is coming. -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
Do you ever find yourself in a situation so stupendous
that your mind can't seem to process it all?
I am constantly faced with physical and spiritual challenges
that destroy my carefully constructed definition of self,
and my limited brain can't keep up -
sometimes I feel a detachment to my own experience
as if I'm watching someone else's life on a screen.
I feel like I recently slipped through a wormhole
in the time-space continuum
and embarked on an interdimensional adventure
too wild for words to capture.
4 months had passed when I came up for air...
While it feels important for me to convey my experience to others,
as I say I scarcely understand it myself, and
how do I transcribe a spiritual quest on the blockchain, anyway?
Maybe the words will come later...maybe I'll make sense of it all...
or maybe I'll just pick myself up, shake off the dust, and keep on keeping on.
Yoga IS a language that works for me,
and thank god it's so forgiving!
No matter how long you've been away doing who knows what,
you can always return to a physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual yoga practice
any time, any place, any where.
Always accessible. Always reliable. Always sustainable.
By sharing this proven method for navigating uncharted territories of existence,
I hope to a) make some sense of wtf happens to me,
and b) provide some relief, comfort, and support to anyone out there
muddling through this insane life.
I'm returning to these roots here and now
to please, please, please reconnect with humanity.
May any benefits I receive benefit you as well!
When I'm thrown for a loop,
I like to go back to the beginning,
so here we are!
Yoga is a union of mind, body, and soul,
and there are countless forms of that.
I practice a flavor called ashtanga yoga,
in which there are 8 limbs:
1. Yamas - personal codes of conduct; ethics; integrity
a. Ahimsa - non-violence
b. Satya - non-lying, truth
c. Asteya - non-stealing
d. Brahmacharya - focus of life force energy, continence
e. Aparigraha - non-hoarding
2. Niyamas - observances; personal practices
a. Saucha - cleanliness
b. Santosha - contentment
c. Tapas - heat, passion
d. Swadhyaya - self-study
e. Ishvara pranidhana - surrender
3. Asanas - physical postures
4. Pranayama - breathing exercises; control of prana
(= manna = chi = ki = life force energy)
5. Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana - concentration
7. Dhyana - meditation
8. Samadhi - enlightenment, ecstasy
This is the framework for an encompassing ashtanga practice to optimize all layers of being. It is not a hierarchy; no limb is more important than another! You are welcome to take what you need, and leave the rest.
Westerners have a tendency to focus on asanas = yoga postures at the exclusion of all else, and in fact that's where most of my yoga posts have focused as they are very accessible and understandable for beginners. Although there are glorious benefits to maintaining a daily habit of movement, I want to expand the discussion and develop a richer practice for the health and wellbeing of ALL! I invite you to join me as I incorporate a fuller spectrum into my little bloggity blog here in the Steemitsphere.
Do you practice yoga?
How do you personalize your practice?
💛 Sara!
I would love to practice yoga but my legs are just not that flexible i guess its too late for me :(
Somebody told me that saying you're too inflexible for yoga is like saying you're too dirty to take a bath. It's never too late, @undocumented!
really !!! do you think I could be more flexible if I do yoga ? I really want to be flexicle cause my GF family makes fun for not being able to sit like them (They're asian)
Yes, of course! Yoga is a guaranteed way to increase flexibility, strength, focus, inner peace, and a whole shit ton of other fantastic physical, mental, and spiritual characteristics. I have achieved numerous benefits through yoga practice that I once thought were impossible. For example, I used to live with debilitating hip pain and had pretty much given up any hope of life without it. After only a month of practicing maybe 4-5 times a week, my hip pain was completely gone!! That's when I really fell in love with yoga; it proved to me that miracles are real.
The only trick is that you have to actually do it. 😄
Thanks @saramiller !
One of the things I missed while I was away was your posts on Yoga. This is a great write up. Personally, from my education in Yoga 40 years ago, I only learned about #2, #3, #4 and #7. It was Chinese martial arts that brought the rest of those concepts into my life. But both were very Americanized back in that period. It took a lot of reading and self-awareness to get much more out of it.
I don't think the whole of unity can be fully captured even in these 8 elements...actually, I think language itself is pretty limited in its ability to convey super juicy ideas and experiences, but we have to work with what we've got, right??
Big ups to you for continuing to search for more than the "Americanized" version you were given; I believe a lot of people restrict themselves by accepting the surface presentation without asking more questions. I find it so interesting to look at Eastern vs. Western paradigms - cultural conditioning is something many people take for granted and assume that their perspective is just the way life is. It's incredibly deep programming, and it really restricts imagination!
I would love to expand my study of martial arts - lots of rich material for self-exploration there. There's quite a lot of overlap as far as focusing and harnessing chi goes, and it's interesting to look at the history and influence these practices had on each other.
I really appreciate your support and input @baerdric!
Ohhhhhh beautiful @saramiller! We can always count on you to cut to the chase and lay it on the line when the timing is perfect. I'm so glad to see you back here on Steemit sharing profound life-changing possibilities. I'm truly grateful to share our daily experience and to delve deep into the unknown with you. Yoga rocks!
I'm grateful to have you as an evolution buddy, @everlove! Your genuine and steadfast support is a shining testament to your character, and I have lots to learn from you 💛
So many opportunities we have to upgrade our existence. With constant vigilance and clear communication life will just keep getting better and better. I too am grateful for you @saramiller. So glad we're doing it!
Constant vigilance, that's the truth. I haven't found anything more worthy of time and energy than becoming a better person, even though it requires unwavering focus. So glad to be doing it too, as well as for frequent reminders!
Very nice post. I need to get into yoga.
Thanks, @team101! I highly recommend the yoga to one and all.
Great stuff Sara! It's always nice when people in the west get a reminder that Yoga is a full-spectrum science that breaks down an entire lifestyle, and not just the stretching that has made it to most Americanized yoga classes.
If you haven't heard it yet, MC Yogi's "8 Limbs" is a GREAT song that walks people through all of Ashtanga.
Thanks @kennyskitchen! I had not heard that song before; he breaks it right on down!
I love that you point out that yoga is a science and a lifestyle; I would add that it's also an art. For me, its multi-faceted nature make it a comprehensive guide to mastering being!
Yoga is such a great practice!
I always feel so so great after a session.
@saramiller have you every tried AcroYoga? I love acroyoga ;)
I agree, yoga always feels wonderful!
And acro is a blast! However I'm 6'1", so I usually have to base if I want to play with people, and that isn't always as fun for me...
Awesome @saramiller I`ve learned yoga through you. Hey are you going to Steem fest 2?
That makes me so happy to share yoga with you, Ana!
Yes I definitely want to go to Steemfest 2!! Are you going?
Hi :) I hope your day is cool :))
Thanks, @foxkoit - I hope your day is cool too 😎
Thank you!! Soon I go sleep :)) it is here 21:04