It's OK to challenge yourself

Last week I wrote about going easy in your yoga practice so it's perfectly fitting that this week I write about going hard.  Again, both ends of the spectrum are either nodding "yes" or "no".  And you know I  am saying that we need a bit of both in our lives.  The yin and the yang.

If we are drawn to a softer practice, sometimes we need to step on our mat and get a bit sweaty.  We need to hear our breath in a different way.  We need to lose focus for a bit on the "I can'ts" the "I don't want tos" and the "it's to hards". Then we focus and breathe and do what we can, the best that we can that day.  Without causing harm we find our line--the line between too hard and too easy, and we hold it.  We sink into our pose and we expand out of it with joy and the happy energy of a challenge well met.

Wow! I'm sitting here in this Starbucks (they have wifi and most importantly power as my lap top no longer has a battery and it's a great time to write) waiting while my son's at marching band practice and  after writing thoes last two lines above--I even just now re-read them and I want to get off this stool and enjoy the most awesome triangle pose ever!

So here I am enjoying triangle pose some where a little more awesome than Starbucks

Alright back in focus. Put some challenge in your yoga, maybe hold your poses a bit longer or practice some sun salutations.  Try some yoga at a different place or with a different teacher (of course come back to your favorite teacher--me) mix it up.  A well rounded practice should have a little bit of everything.

If you are that lover of "hard" yoga, don't forget to go soft sometimes.  Read my last blog, It's OK to go easy.  Remember any questions or comments, I'm here to help.  Enjoy this bit of a yang practice, my take on Paul Grilley's, warriors advances and retreats.  Find your inner warrior and enjoy. (Ordinary yogis can be warriors).

click here to view video

It's OK to go easy.

Did you know that OK is the most recognized word in the world? Coke is the number 2, but that's a blog for a different day.  So, it is OK to do "easy" yoga.  It's OK for your yoga to not be super sweaty or feel really hard, and you know what you can still be practicing great yoga.  Many already yoga fans and yoga teachers are nodding their heads "yes" right now just as many (especially yoga avoiders) are shaking their heads "no."

So no matter your stance, just sit back for a moment and read on.  Our yoga can be gentle and accomplish many things.  If you are a go hard or go home exerciser, yoga of the gentle variety might be just what you need.  It might take you out of your comfort zone and challenge you in a different way.  This type of yoga could very well be the key to making all of your other exercise stronger, better, and more fun.  A body that works hard needs rest to heal and strengthen.  And there are not many of us out there saying "I'm flexible enough."

A gentle yoga class or practice can give our bodies permission to rest and move gently.  We can work on range of motion and bringing fluidity to our joints.  We can rest and listen in to what our bodies are really saying.  Pretty much most of us want our backs to feel better and for the tension to leave our necks and shoulders.  Gentle careful mindful movements can get things going in the feel good direction.  A gentle practice can keep us going so that we can go hard again another day.

If we are a person dealing with injuries, lack of current exercise, or other ailments, some gentle yoga can get us started on the road to recovery or just to feeling better in our bodies.

If we have no limitations and we are mostly drawn to gentler yoga, that's not such a terrible thing either.  But we may need to on occasion challenge ourselves to move more, and that will be the topic of a future blog post.  Think yin and yang, two halves that make a complete whole.  We want to be as complete of a person as we can and both types of yoga can help us.

The following video is from a few years ago, but it's some gentle, easy feel good yoga.  The video also stars Lissa the dog and the sweetest (some what large) cat named Lloyd who died a few months ago, and boy does my home practice yoga miss him.  So lay on down to practice and remember that it's OK to go easy.  I'm Audra, the ordinary yoga, practicing easy with you.

click here to see video on youtube