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).

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