Lost in Practice

Practice Hall at RIMYI

Do you ever find yourself staring at your yoga mat, feeling at a loss for what to practice?

Do you ever get lost while in the middle of practicing, wondering where to go next?

It happens!

But then, do you ever get so absorbed that you lose track of time?  What makes that practice different than those on other days?

This week, we had a marvelous opportunity to explore these questions at a Q & A session with one of the Institute's younger senior teachers.  

Raya Uma Datta grew up along side Abhi, with Guruji, Geeta and Prashant as guides.  Now, he teaches at the Institute and around the world with boldness, intelligence and enthusiasm for the subject.  While he has a reputation for swift moving, challenging classes, he stops along the way to share an insight, inspire with a story about BKS Iyengar teaching him, or poke fun at us in a loving way.  His energy is infectious.

But, in practice, his energy is directed inward.  During open practice time in the big hall, I have seen him working up close -- literally --  he put his mat down three inches from mine one day.  There is an efficient, quiet, inward, energy as he took himself through ALL the Sirsasana (headstand) variations.  Another day he did lateral and twisting standing poses facing up close to a wall.

Today's session Q&A began with the question:

What do you practice? 

The conversation wove through many different themes, as practitioners of a few years to many shared their ideas.  Raya encouraged us to get away from "assessment" or "teaching" mode in our practices by taking us through various scenarios to enliven or even radically change the way we practice.   Here are some of them...the titles are mine.

TICK-TOCK:  Do an entire practice with a timer.  Challenge yourself to stay for a given amount of time in each pose, and take the time to create the support you need to increase your success to stay.


ALL RIGHT/ALL LEFT:  Do all or most of the standing poses BUT do them on the right side, going from one to another to another.  Then, do them all in on the left side.  Or, shake things up and do the left sides first.  One can do the same with other two sided poses like the seated forward bends and twists.  Find out what that does for the Body-Mind-Breath experience.

PUZZLE TO THE BRAIN:  A variation on the previous idea, using two-sided standing poses again as the example, alternate which side goes first. Move through them one after the other.  For example, Utthita Trikonasana right then left, then into Utthita Parsvakonasana left then right, then into Ardha Chandrasana right then left, then into Virabhadrasana I left then right...and so on.  Observe your mind before and after.


RANDOM ACTS of CURIOSITY:  Open Light on Yoga to a random page. Break down and practice that pose.  Close the book and open it to another page...continue in that fashion. Don't worry so much about sequencing.  Just explore!

NOT-SO-RANDOM:  Need help really establishing the habit of practice?  Write down 6-7 different sequences or types or practices.  Every Monday work on the same sequence for 3 months, same for Tuesday, etc.   If you have to skip a day each week, don't worry...you have more weeks to practice that sequence ahead.  

GOAL POSE:  Take 5-6 minutes before you practice, picture a pose you want to improve - say Pincha Mayurasana.  Study the pose in Light on Yoga, try it and find out what the obstacles are for you.  Then, contemplate what actions or shapes in other poses might prepare you to take this on.  Make this practice one of your rotation in the NOT-SO-RANDOM strategy to really make headway.  

SHAPES:  Examine the similar shapes in poses, perhaps taking three and practice all three of them in a row.  This one might not employ best "sequencing" methods, but as Raya pointed out, after a little warm up practice, do these "softly" rather than aggressively.  Here's a simple example with photos, but many more abound: 

Padangusthasana

Paschimottanasana

Urdhva Mukha
Paschimottanasana I

REVERSE ENGINEERING: Take a pose you have NEVER done from Light on Yoga.  What other poses are represented in that pose?  Can you practice a few of those elements, and then try to put the pose together.  Let's look at one example of a pose one may not have tried:  Astavakrasana 

Can you see how the torso resembles Chaturanga Dandasana?

And the legs? Jathara Parivartanasana.  Maybe even a little Eka Hasta Bhujasana with one leg hooked over one arm. 

Practicing those two poses, perhaps some other twists and arm balances, begins to set you up to take on Astavakrasana.

APPENDIX 1:  When Light on Yoga was written, according to Raya, one of the notions behind it was that a good book is better than no teacher or a bad teacher.  And, while BKS Iyengar's practice continued to evolve and improve from the days of the first edition, it still is a timeless reference.  Appendix 1 offers sequences laid out as a course for practice.   Try some! 

And send some of your thoughts on practice ideas either in the comments section or on the Facebook link for this blog post. 

Happy and playful practice to you all!