Yoga is a work in, not just a workout

For sure yoga asana practice can be a workout, but the work starts within.

I can not take ownership for this thought; I’m currently reading Living the Sutras : A Guide To Yoga Wisdom Beyond The Mat by Kelly DiNardo and Emily Pearce-Hayden which is where this idea has provoked me to dive deeper.

There are many ways that we are drawn to yoga. Some folks start practicing to relieve physical pain, others emotional or mental pain, and many want to build strength and resilience in our bodies. All of these and many more are valid pathways to a yoga practice. Something I realized though in my practice is that to achieve the asana practice of yoga, the inward work needs to happen as well.

The inward work can be boiled down to wanting to find ease of life, contentment, and joy. Think about this for a moment. Even when you are in a challenging pose, (maybe your instructor is having you sit in chair for 127 rounds of breath), we are hoping to find contentment in this pose or that it will become easier with practice. Why don’t we use this approach to physical discomfort with our mental or emotional discomfort? Meaning, why don’t we take time to pause on the painful thoughts, practice observing, and let is pass (or change something) as it does in our physical practice? Now, I don’t mean for you to place your hand on stovetop and observe the pain there; obviously your body tells you ‘danger’ and ‘pain’ and then you remove your hand (I hope). Nor do I mean to put yourself in an emotionally challenging situation. What I’m trying to explain is that we should look inward as well to observe our mind during pleasant and unpleasant moments.

We have a tendency to avoid or bury unpleasant events; my therapist continues to prove this to me bi-weekly. To be fully present in, we tune into mind and body during our yoga practice. Observing and not assessing. This is what will allow us to deepen our practice and progress in calming the mind and turning into the physical body. Do not avoid the unpleasant; experience, observe, and move through.