Today I had the immense pleasure of catching up with a 55 year old yoga teacher. A friend of mine, colleague and fellow yoga course facilitator means we have a lot in common and I found myself feeling very refreshed by listening to her wisdom from her years of experience as a yogi, teacher and teacher trainer. We discussed the joy of watching our students transform, the huge growth of yoga in the mainstream market, our own phases within our yoga journey as we age (Im nearly 40). We talked about when we are young or new to yoga how the asana seems so attractive and how we watch with amusement how some of our students use new technology like Facebook and Instagram to show sequences of only the most dynamic asanas in a 15 second video or the most advanced pose in their pics. We were both taught in the traditional way not to publicly display our practice as it doesnt actually assist anyone, can make others feel inferior, and embellishes our ego. Short vids and photo opportunities on social media are very tempting. Like anything, if we check our intention at the time we can be discerning of if we are serving others or our own ego! Ultimately all is good, perfect and in divine order and social media is here to stay and can be used wisely. My darling friend helped me to see that the new phase I am growing into at my age is wonderful for me. I have been battling myself lately in terms of my mind hounding me to practice more asana when the truth is, meditation is more where I feel I need to be. As my body ages, yes I do need to continue my asana practice, but I am no longer interested in advancing the physical poses. I love moving prana (energy) through asana but these days sometimes as I practice, I find myself dancing instead - I cannot seem to stick to a strict form of asana as however it feels right to move energy is all that matters. I am allowing freedom into my asana practice and whilst I have been feeling some guilt that I am moving further away from some peoples thoughts on how asana needs to look or how we need to sequence asana or ideas that traditional forms like Ashtanga Yoga are best, I am breaking free! Thank you to my wise, divine friend today for helping me see clearly. Age can be such a blessing
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 06:23:46 +0000
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