Have
you ever wondered why Synergy Yoga named its beginner yoga classes
Foundations? Whether you like the name
or not, or don’t care one way or
another, the Foundations name was by design.
The
main reason that we (the owners of Synergy and those of us teachers who
happened to be present for this discussion) came up with the Foundations name is
that in yoga, the foundation or base of the pose, is the most important aspect
of your pose besides the breath. As I
tell my students, if the foundation of your house is lopsided, and you try to
build your house atop a crooked foundation, your structure will be
unstable. Likewise, if you build your
yoga pose upon an unsound foundation, your pose will be unstable. We’re
taught as teachers when we see a student that looks “off” in the pose to “check their
foundation first.” Often the foundation is all that needs
to be corrected, and the pose then corrects itself.
Foundation
can refer to the base of the pose, or to the base of the practice itself. It’s
important to build a strong foundation for your yoga practice, through the
basics in yoga—breathing,
alignment, and basic standing and seated postures—before you try more advanced
postures. This is not to hold you back
or to make you feel bad about yourself.
Quite the opposite! It’s important to
build the strength and the stamina in the body and the integrity in the base
poses first, before moving on to more advanced asanas so you’ll feel confident
when you’re ready to attempt
them. Sure, you still may have fear when
you go upside down, but at least you’ll
know your shoulders and core strength are strong enough to keep you up. More importantly, it’s to keep you
safe! If you attempt a headstand, for instance,
when your neck, shoulder and abdominal muscles aren’t strong enough,
you risk serious injury.
Yoga
is very different than other physical practices we do. It’s
not like football or tennis or other competitive sports. And it’s
different than our working environment where competition is the norm. So it’s
hard to come to our mats and turn all that off.
We’re very driven by
our minds and by our egos, and we want to perform well. We’re
used to competing, and to winning.
(Flash of Charlie Sheen, “Winning!”) In fact, we’re so driven in our society to “win” or “not fail” that for some
people it’s hard to admit
they’re beginners. I have found in my 10 years of teaching that
many new students would rather jump into intermediate classes and risk injury
than be labeled a beginner. So, just for
a moment, go inward and notice if being a beginner in something — whether it’s yoga or something
else — makes you feel
somehow, “less than”?
Now
take a deep breath in through the nose, and then exhale through the mouth and
let it all go. Let out that need to
win. Let go of that feeling of being
less than. Let go of that fear of
failing. Yoga gives us permission to let
go. Does that mean you can’t work to be better
in your yoga practice! Of course
not! We celebrate your effort! And we celebrate your successes! You can too!
Yoga just asks us not to get attached to them.
Every
single day you come to your mat is a different day. And really, every single moment you’re on your mat is a
different moment, so how can you expect it to be like the moment before? Let each moment be a new exploration of your
body, your breath and your practice. Don’t be in a hurry to “get” the pose. Enjoy the small victories—the mastering the
breath; being able to balance longer on one leg in Tree pose; the getting a
little deeper in a forward bend; suddenly finding your heels on the ground in
Downward Facing Dog; or your hips on the floor in Hero pose. Maybe you notice you don’t fly off the
handle as much when someone provokes you?
This too is marker of progress in your yoga practice. If you remember the journey is as important
(and as much fun) as the destination you’ll
enjoy the practice so much more!
Namaste.
Barbara
Barbara James is ERYT-200, RYT-500 ceritified, Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at Synergy Yoga & Wellness.
Barbara James is ERYT-200, RYT-500 ceritified, Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at Synergy Yoga & Wellness.
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