Tag Archive for: 500

Learn, Heal, Live: For All

As time progresses I continued to use what I was learning in class. My sequencing thus far focuses on repetition and recently longer holds. I would like to build my own sequencing by writing down and building out classes. This however still makes me a little nervous as I still have a bit to learn here.

As it relates to my teaching yoga in Spanish I have been asked to teach a class for parents and teachers at a local school. This will begin the first week of December. More to learn and implement! I will reach out to some folks I recently met to put together a class in Spanish. I will also do plenty of research online in order to get more understanding of directive language use in Spanish.

My practice is two-fold. The journey of building and maintaining my own daily sadhana and that which I can share with others is far from perfect. I feel that this requires a great deal more of understanding and self-practice before I can truly be the teacher I want. The reality that I will always be a student of yoga is ever so clear and I must say that I embrace it wholeheartedly. The experiments shall continue!

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Beyond Asana

Sometimes we can only delve deeper into the unknown by setting aside the known for a little while. This Axis Yoga Teacher Training student’s desire to deepen their sadhana practice required a relinquishment of their more familiar asana practice. They faced a challenge familiar to many who try to begin a meditation practice; wondering if we are doing it “right” and feeling some discomfort in being alone in our own mind. This student’s courage to experiment with their practice lead to more patience, love and understanding for both self and others.

 

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Beyond Asana: My Goal

For my second experiment I aimed to deepen my personal sadhana practice. I have always known that yoga is more than just an asana practice, but fell short on incorporating Pranayama into my own practice. I avoided Pranayama because I was not comfortable meditating alone, and questioned if I was even doing it correctly. When we practiced sadhana during class I always left feeling content, clear minded and at ease, I decided I wanted to cultivate these positive outcomes into my own everyday life.

Prior to this experiment my yoga practice consisted of getting up at 5 a.m. oil pulling, a gentle oil massage, shower and then 30-45 minutes of asana practice followed by 5-10 minutes of mediation. I had to be finished with this whole routine by 6:20 a.m. so I would have time to get ready and off to work. Some days if I were running late or if I felt inspired to add more asana or take longer holds the first thing to go was my pranayam practice. On the days when I did have adequate time to mediate I was unable to get comfortable and found myself thinking about everything I had to do that day. I would tell myself I would sit for at least try for 10-20 minutes, but would be so restless after 5 minutes I stopped trying.

I was aware that needed more time to meditate, but figured at least I was doing everything thing else in my routine, so what was the harm in not meditating. After sharing this issue with a teacher, he suggested I work primarily on my sadhana practice and leave out my asana practice. Therefore, I hypothesized if I devoted my morning routine strictly to sadhana I could deepen this part of my practice and add it together with the asana practice later on. I also hypothesized that a consistent personal sadhana practice would welcome the same peace and mindfulness I achieved during our class sadhanas.

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Beyond Asana: My Routine

I kept my same 5 a.m. wake up time and performed the same oil pulling, oil massage and showering routine as I had. I felt it was necessary to clean and awake for my practice and the ritual made me feel like I was preparing for something special. I then went to spare bedroom to practice with nothing, but my mat and a few pictures of family and friends on an altar. I started by setting an intention for how I wanted my day to go, often asking for more patience and understanding towards others. I then sang the Gayatri mantra, performed the Four Purifications and then sat quietly and meditated.

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Beyond Asana: My Experience

I looked forward to getting up every morning and performing my routine, especially singing the Gayatri Mantra. Some days I would sing it three times and other days I did not want to stop and sang it at least ten times one morning. The Mantra made the space my own and the action of singing relieved some of the pressure I had felt in the past about sitting alone with my thoughts. My first week I successfully sat in silence and for a maximum of 20 minutes, and as the weeks progressed I was able sit for 40 minutes, some days going over time. My first week I felt I had more energy, relied less on caffeine, and was overall clear minded and content.

My second week of this experiment, I began to experience very vivid dreams of events that had happened to me in the past. These were event I did not remember or perhaps chose not to remember, but knew they had happened. I, myself was not the main character in the dream, but rather watched the same event I had as experienced happen to another person. I was an outsider looking in on my own life’s history. I did not feel nearly as happy or clear minded my second week as I had my first and debated stopping my pranayama practice because I did not want to be burdened by these dreams every night. I did not realize how much I lived my life day to day, and chose to ignore how past experiences shaped me. It was not a pleasant experience to look at a direct reflection of myself, but realized it was something I had avoided and needed to finally face. My second week could be described as an inward discovery of myself, where my life’s path had led me and where I wanted it to lead me.

By the third week of my experiment, my practice started to come full circle and felt calm, happy as I did the first week. Diving deeper into my subconscious was difficult at times, but in the end I had gained perspective on my life. In my dreams I had experienced events as an outside party, allowing me to suspend judgments about myself and move forward rather than feel stuck by one event in my life. The intention I began during my third week was asking for more patience and understanding of myself therefore allowing for a greater amount of self-love.

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Wanted: Sleep

Insomnia can wreak havoc on your life. And that’s just what this Axis Yoga Teacher Training student was starting to experience. The Axis YTT program provided the platform for this student to experiment with Ayurvedic treatment of insomnia. Ayurveda, the sister-science to Yoga, has helped many students deal with their own health conditions. Experimenting with the Ayurvedic principles they learn in class allows students to have a greater understanding of the benefits of this ancient system of medicine. Here we see yet another story of success.

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Wanted: Sleep – Vata Imbalance

In the most recent past I was experiencing vata imbalances. As a result, I wasn’t sleeping as well as I should have been; close to 3 hours a night at the most. According to the Ayurvedic Home Remedies by Vasant Lad, vata induced insomnia is caused by stressors and sometimes depression. Furthermore, my insomnia was becoming a problem. I was falling behind in my classes and not healing from strep a few weeks prior. Thus, I decided that my Ayurveda experiment was going to be designed to overcome my sleeping issues.

To begin, I basically followed a regiment recommended by Lad. This includes dietary remedies, oil massages, and meditation practices.

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Wanted: Sleep – Dietary Remedies

It was suggested in the Ayurvedic Home Remedies book to drink warm milk before bed. Considering that I prefer not to drink dairy milk, I substituted with almond milk. I thought this was also a good idea since the book also suggested that one add blanched or crushed almond to their warm milk as well. Moreover, I would also stir in nutmeg and cardamom. I enjoyed this nighttime concoction because I wasn’t drinking tea before bed and consuming.

One remedy I did begin with, but did not continue, was garlic milk. To put it simply, it was gross and I didn’t want to drink it.

Another dietary element I added to my daily routine was cherry juice. The book however, stated to eat a dozen or so cherries a day, yet it was not cherry season. Needless to say, I bought pure cherry juice from the store. I figured it would have near the same vitamins that help decrease fatigue and insomnia. I drank about a cup a day.

Lastly, I would not eat any food about four hours before bed. This way my digestive process would not keep me awake.

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Wanted: Sleep – Oil Massaging

When I first started doing oil massages I used sesame oil. However, after about three days I noticed that I began to break out. Then a previous student suggested that I try coconut oil. I would apply this in the morning and after I showered as well as at night before bed. Then again, when I applied oil before I bed, I massaged my scalp, temples and feet. This felt very relaxing and I did not continue to break out with the use of coconut oil.

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Wanted: Sleep – Meditation

As Lad suggested, I decided to practice a So-Hum meditation at night. In addition, I would focus on my third eye. It didn’t take long after beginning meditation for me to fall asleep. In fact, I find myself drifting off in class during this meditation practice.

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