Tag: learn

What is yoga?

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The question that comes up frequently – what is yoga and what makes it different from any other “fitness style”?

I was teaching the Ashtanga module in a teacher training this weekend and it showed up so beautifully what yoga actually is.

After practicing the primary series, a student told me how she felt her body speaking to her. Telling her what she should look into, not just on a physical, but also on a mental level. She was amazed on how she could focus on herself, not looking at others, but go internal. She practiced yoga.

Another student was struggling a lot with postures, being rather upset after. He wasn’t even willing to share his experience, so I won’t judge, but it felt as if he was caught up in performing.

It doesn‘t really matter if your body can make it into a pretzel or if it doesn‘t find the sweet spot in a balance; what matters is being open to what an asana teaches. We receive lessons on all levels, body, mind and spirit. We can learn so much, If only we would listen.

This is where the yoga starts. 

Let me give you an example. To go deep into backbends, we need to open the front side, particularly the chest area (very simplified!), and if this is difficult for you, ask yourself where else in your life does this show up? How open is your heart? How willing are you to show up as your true self?

Balancing postures are telling us a lot about our stress level…

Asanas can work in both directions, as pointers, and they can also help to address and eventually solve an issue you might face in other ares of your life. 

Yoga isn‘t a fitness regime, although it helps on this level too!

These days

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Nothing but one topic. In the news, social media, the workplace. The world as such is struggling. 

Life changes and it will be significant now. It’s not just a phase we need to go through, nature forces us to change. The best option we have, is to commit ourselves to it. Please don’t be afraid.

Your plans have been boycotted? So have mine. Please don’t be angry. But use this energy to be creative. Release, let go and rethink what needs to change. 

We are used to run through life in high speed – as fast as possible, ticking as many boxes as we can. Stop this madness, it’s time to slow down. Be patient and grateful, we’re still here, we have a new chance to do things different.

This also is a huge opportunity for each individual as for communities. Open your eyes, open your heart, open yourself to the new. Observe, learn, reflect, adapt, change.

We often only learn through pain and to me it seems as if we have to learn and change things now at a larger scale. As we stubbornly didn’t so far, we are forced now. 

Let’s take this chance!

First thing for me is to slow down, get the pace out. I taught a yoga class yesterday and due to my broken ribs, I couldn’t demonstrate, but was reliant on my voice only. An unfamiliar situation, but I noticed that I was much slower than usual, and calmer. Practice seemed to be softer, even if physically demanding. I liked it and so did my students.

It might sound rather contrarily, as we are asked to keep distance now, and same time community and coherence is getting even more crucial. We are technically equipped, so why not using it to collaborate through distance:

My distance Reiki healing sessions are already available and it works perfectly on an energetic level.

So let’s do that for yoga too: I will soon offer 1:1 or small group yoga classes via video chat. Interested? Drop me a line!

Allow your progress to unfold

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Never judge your progress on physical standards. Instead feel it. The posture might look the same, but you will feel the progress. There is more, there is always more, don‘t allow any expectations or judgment to ruin your progress. Let it come naturally, without forcing. Be patient.

Find your rhythm, vibrate in your frequency, follow your pace. This is the way to smile while learning 😊😍

Failure

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„Behind every success, there’s a string of failures.“

We hear this quite often. In life, in a yoga classes. I don’t agree. Failure doesn’t exist. If you want to believe in failure, of course you’ll fail. Better you don’t let that crap manifest in your mind.

When I can’t manage to do an asana, am I failing? No, I’m learning. I do it again and again. Learning the technique, and much more important, opening my body and my mind, learning to feel the posture. Challenging myself, but not pushing too hard. Accepting that it takes time and enjoying even the baby steps. It’s a huge learning process, for the body and don’t underestimate the mind! Lot’s of believes prevent my body to be soft and let it simple happen.

Believing in failure works hand in hand with judging. Doubts and thoughts such as, I can’t do that, I’m not good enough, I’m too old, too fat, too weak, will make any progress impossible.

Stop limiting yourself. Accept your limitations and go from there. Each day is different, a posture that works yesterday, seem inaccessible today. That’s life! We are humans, not machines.

Stop focussing on images in social media, showing us what we SHOULD be able to do or how we should look. Crab.

Live YOUR life. In YOUR pace. Feel yourself, listen to your body. Be nice to yourself!

It’s all about love and love doesn’t know failure. It’s all part of the game.