Practice and all is coming -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
Daily Practice - April and May
I last reported progress on my Yoga Streak in early April. I'm now heading into my sixth month of daily yoga practice. Although there have certainly been days that I pulled a 15 minute vinyasa sequence out of thin air at 11:45 p.m. in order to fulfill my commitment, I've actually been quite dedicated to doing a significant daily practice. I've felt the impact this has had on my life and health and it's all positive!
April: In the opening days of April, I received a free pass to the Yoga Show and Conference and spent three happy days at the show's 'yoga garden', enjoying free classes by internationally acclaimed teachers (and a few I hadn't heard of). I came away from the show newly inspired, but had a difficult time reconnecting with my home yoga practice for a few days. During most of the month, I practised a greater mix of styles, flirting with Yin, combination practice with Journey Dance, Anusara and plain old Hatha. There was some Astanga mixed in here and there, but definitely not every other day as I had planned. Late in the month, I realised that I felt better physically than I had in months (since an illness that had me on bed rest last fall) and I missed doing the Primary Series. I dusted off my Beryl Bender Birch 'Power Yoga' DVD (my favourite led Primary) and did the whole thing. I felt great. I did this the next day and the next, until my Lady's Holiday came.
May: In May, resumed a daily practice of the full Primary Series with the occasional 'day off' to practice Hatha or Restorative yoga. I practised the full Primary 18 times in May. I was pleased to notice that I hadn't 'lost' much of my Astanga practice and my strength came back to me quickly. By the end of May, I was back to the level of fitness I had been last summer before I got sick. Clearly, all the daily yoga I've been doing, even the non-vinyasa styles, was beneficial!
I've flitted around with Full Primary these past few weeks, but in June, I want to really return to a true 'six-day' (six days on, one day off) Astanga practice and continue this through the summer. My day off will probably not be Saturday. I'm about to shift into a different pattern of employment this month (I will likely start working a contract as I usually do when summer comes and my teaching schedule lightens) and will base my routine on the demands of work. On the days I'm not practising Astanga, I'll do another type of practice.
April: In the opening days of April, I received a free pass to the Yoga Show and Conference and spent three happy days at the show's 'yoga garden', enjoying free classes by internationally acclaimed teachers (and a few I hadn't heard of). I came away from the show newly inspired, but had a difficult time reconnecting with my home yoga practice for a few days. During most of the month, I practised a greater mix of styles, flirting with Yin, combination practice with Journey Dance, Anusara and plain old Hatha. There was some Astanga mixed in here and there, but definitely not every other day as I had planned. Late in the month, I realised that I felt better physically than I had in months (since an illness that had me on bed rest last fall) and I missed doing the Primary Series. I dusted off my Beryl Bender Birch 'Power Yoga' DVD (my favourite led Primary) and did the whole thing. I felt great. I did this the next day and the next, until my Lady's Holiday came.
May: In May, resumed a daily practice of the full Primary Series with the occasional 'day off' to practice Hatha or Restorative yoga. I practised the full Primary 18 times in May. I was pleased to notice that I hadn't 'lost' much of my Astanga practice and my strength came back to me quickly. By the end of May, I was back to the level of fitness I had been last summer before I got sick. Clearly, all the daily yoga I've been doing, even the non-vinyasa styles, was beneficial!
I've flitted around with Full Primary these past few weeks, but in June, I want to really return to a true 'six-day' (six days on, one day off) Astanga practice and continue this through the summer. My day off will probably not be Saturday. I'm about to shift into a different pattern of employment this month (I will likely start working a contract as I usually do when summer comes and my teaching schedule lightens) and will base my routine on the demands of work. On the days I'm not practising Astanga, I'll do another type of practice.
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Comment by Chris on June 1, 2009 at 9:38pm - Wow, I am so impressed by how you have kept your daily practice going! I once had a true daily practice for a few months, but that has currently turned into a "sort of" daily practice, not the same thing at all ...
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