yoga
CalmMoment.com 37I
f you regularly practice yoga, have
you ever noticed that ‘life’ has a habit
of joining us on the mat? Whatever
habits and tendencies are present in
our daily life (be it rushing around
and pushing ourselves too hard or living life
at a leisurely pace and never challenging
ourselves), we often carry these traits with
us into our practice.
Continually pushing ourselves too hard
may result in injury or burnout. On the other
hand, if we never push ourselves, we may
find it difficult to progress. Exploring
something that’s the opposite of what we
usually do may be uncomfortable – even
scary – but the experience can enrich our
lives and our yoga practice immensely.
Ultimately, this is what balance is all about.
Sutra 2.46 – “sthira-sukham asanam” – in
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (a collection of
aphorisms on the theory and practice of
yoga) refers to yoga postures being “stable
and comfortable”; a balance of effort andease. Sthira refers to stability and strength.
Sukha refers to comfort, ease and openness.
On our yoga mat, and in our lives, we are
looking for the delicate balance between our
flexibility (ease) and our strength (effort).
Too much flexibility or ease and we may
become lazy and stagnant. Too much
strength and effort and we may become rigid
and uncompromising.
It took me a while to find balance in my
yoga practice. At one point in my life I found
myself caught up in a very strong morning
practice – but I never stopped to ask: ‘How
does this make me feel?’ I must admit, it took
an injury to make me stop and finally listen
to what my body had probably been trying to
tell me for some time. After taking stock,
doing a little reading and research, and
experimenting with the type of practices I did- I shifted my morning practice to a slower,
more grounded style of yoga; the type of
practice I would have previously done in the
evenings to wind down. I began to notice
Exploring new ways of moving can enrich our yoga
practice, and our lives, immensely, says Esther Ekhart
Photography: Harold Pereira