A Challenge for yr Tuesday ~ Discover for yourself.
Like anything The definition of Yoga can mean different things to different people. Everyone’s perception & translation is different. One consideration I’ve found helpful on & off the Yoga Mat or Meditation Cushion is of (the translation from the Sanskrit Definition of Yoga)
Citta Vrtti Nirodha
“This is not about control, restraint or suppression of thought , but a vigilantly watchful understanding of the movements of the mind, which is stillness of a different kind” Ultimately the student has to discover this for themselves. This translation from Patanjalis Yoga Sutras (Swami Venkatesananda) is one of many .
The emphasis on not needing to stop your thoughts or restrain them is not only realistic but a practical approach that creates less tension and more understanding.
In Yoga Teacher Training quite often students want to be told the “right way” to do the yoga pose. Although there is a lot to be considered for safety, alignment, which is different for each body type (which we look into)
Nothing is more valuable than learning from your own experience. There’s ALOT these days that can distract us from paying attention to our own experience!
Rather than be told what to do, how to think, let us be curious about the experience we are having and learn from it. Maybe a simplified definition of Yoga is “Self Discovery & Understanding” There’s a lot to ourselves ! More than meets the eye. We are more than a sack of muscles & bones trying to touch our toes. When we remember this we remember there’s a lot to others too. We are not only training the eye (with how the pose may look) we are training all of our other senses (including our Intuition) & how we feel in Yoga & Yoga Teacher Training.
A real blessing in doing Yoga &/or Mindfulness Teacher Training is it gives you SPACE to NOTICE how you do feel about things . How you truly feel (once reactivity has subsided) For me this is the Gold in Yoga. (& Learning How to Teach) It’s why it’s an ongoing process that can’t be rushed.
Anyone or anything that helps us with this ongoing process (life) can be a guide (like the Sutras, the Yoga Poses, Anatomy , Nature etc ) The teacher however is the experience you are having both on & off the yoga mat. Discovering this for yourself starts with NOTICING (Paying Attention) ~ (That’s what the “N” in Yoga NRG stands for)
It’s hard to pay attention and simply “NOTICE” if we are constantly distracted (especially by self judgement or judging others) Thankfully there are some yogic tools that ANYONE can learn & teach. (Teaching comes in many forms so does learning) This is all part of the Self Discovery.
We learn a lot about ourselves in Teacher Training but the transformation that happens comes from understanding others. One great thing about all these fancy yoga poses is they release self imposed tension from being told what to do and how to think. (Conditioning) In other words the “shouds” that we can be governed by without noticing where they come from.
Sometimes (short term) it’s easier to just be told what to do. It gives the mind a rest. There’s nothing wrong with short term relief
If you want to understand something though, discover for yourself. Let yourself make so called mistakes. We don’t need to be “the best or good at something” in order to gain benefit or learn from it.
Often we understand something through learning how to teach it. And the best way to practice or teach anything is to start from where you are at today. Start before (you think) you are ready. The Self Discovery begins from there.
Namaste
🙏Tammy .
Looking forward to supporting self discovery & more for those wanting to embark on our 2020 Teacher Training . 200 hr starts in March . 500 hr starts April
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Often we understand something through learning how to teach it. And the best way to practice or teach anything is to start from where you are at today. Start before (you think) you are ready. The Self Discovery begins from there.
Namaste
🙏Tammy .
Looking forward to supporting self discovery & more for those wanting to embark on our 2020 Teacher Training . 200 hr starts in March . 500 hr starts April
#selfdiscovery #teachyoga #yoganrg