Sunday, March 27, 2011

Yoga Challenge - Day 18 - Yoga and Aristotle

Hello Fellow Challengers,

Today was a fairly busy day with class this morning and busy work around the house.  I moved some things and cleared out some clutter.  You have to get the old out to get the new in.  Or, as Aristotle once proposed, "nature abhors a vacuum."

That idea can apply to your yoga practice as well.  It is easy to get stuck in a yoga practice rut, doing the same thing every day, not challenging yourself.  When you don't challenge yourself, you don't grow.  When you do the same practice every day, you might become bored and drop your personal practice altogether.  If you challenge yourself to practice a pose you find difficult, for example, you might find yourself becoming more at ease in that pose.  You might even come to like a pose you didn't think you ever would!  Try some new music, or no music at all.  You get the idea.  Let go of your standard daily practice and add something new every now and then; change things up and see what it brings into your life.

Today I challenged myself with a bunch of forearm and "regular" plank poses, and other arm-strengthening poses.  My arms might be a bit sore tomorrow, but I will have achieved something in the process, and not just stronger arms and back.  I will have achieved just a little more self-confidence because I challenged myself.  My practice today was 45 minutes of asana and 25 minutes of meditation.

Keep challenging yourself!

Namaste,
Julie

4 comments:

Aunt Pam said...

Sounds great, Julie. I finally got to practice on Friday, but then it was straight back to snow shoveling, my cabin this time. I still have more on my deck to shovel, but then with spring finally arriving I look forward to yoga for exercise and pleasure again. :)

Unknown said...

Sounds like Friday was the day for your practice, Pam. Keep up the great work! I did some shoveling myself. There was quite a bunch of snow to shovel, wasn't there? Wow! Spring is around the corner, though it hardly seems like it around here. I'll be happy to do my practice outside on my deck, in the early morning with a cup of hot tea. That will be awesome!

Aunt Pam said...

What a great idea... deck yoga! Can't wait. :)

Unknown said...

Deck yoga is the BOMB!!! LOL