All the Sides of Yoga

In class we are working more towards defining the different sides of Yoga. Asana is the sanskrit word for poses and postures. Pranayama is the breath. These two pillars of yoga form the modern yoga we see in most studios. Technically there are 8 pillars. The others are Yama or ethical discipline, Niyama or individual discipline, Pratyahara or withdrawl of the senses, Dharana or concentration, Dhyana or meditation, and Samadhi or enlightenment. In the path of Yoga you start with Yama and build your practice upon each pillar sequentially with Asana and Pranayama coming after Niyama. As you build upon each pillar, the others strengthen as a result.

In my case I learned and practiced the social and individual ethics and morals already. I had kind of reached a plateau and tabled my spiritual practice. When I started doing yoga I didn't feel more spiritual per say, but it helped me work on related disciplines like self awareness and focus. Most of all it helped me let go of my inner critic. I mean she still pops up ever now and then. I can't help it, but the voice is quieter and less frequent. Letting go of self criticisms helped me stay true to myself. If you don't judge yourself then you also worry less about what others think of you. As a result you can really learn about yourself and figure out what you need. 

That's what I really love about yoga. Each person is urged to focus on their own path. There isn't a collective group moving together but instead individuals who share the same ideals but walk their own paths. There is no judgement but mostly understanding and respect because everyone is unique. 

For me, being able to let go of judgement has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Growing up in a world full of comparing, judging and high expectations was wildly stressful and unhappy. Today I hardly think about it because I just let it go. It was what it was, but today is today. My past does not weigh me down and I walk forward each day. 

With this personal movement I think I'll naturally move onto the next pillars (concentration and meditation). Not really because I want to reach enlightenment but because I want to find focus and peacefulness without having to perform the physical practice of yoga. Yoga is very much a positive escape or mini vacation from the pressures of the world. If I can do it in my own room I will be happier. 

Do I believe in enlightenment? I don't know. To me it sounds too idealistic. I don't want to be so drawn within myself that I am shutting out the rest of the world. There is too much going on for me to want to become secluded. I think that is almost selfish. It would be such a waste if I decided to become a monk or yogi and only work on my path to enlightenment 24/7. 

Besides I don't think I will ever reach a point where I am so perfect or free of fault. I will always make mistakes, and I will always be connected to my emotions. I am only human. 

Teaching is great

Today in class we group taught a 90 minute yoga practice. So the instructors wrote out a whole sequence and we drew numbers to see who would teach which pose. We spent the whole time rotating in and out of teaching and taking the class. It was interesting because we all had to be mentally engaged as well as physically engaged the whole time, listening for our number and thinking about how we were going to teach our pose. It was the funnest yoga class I've ever been to. Personalities came out, we all said weird and funny things and it was a good time.

I drew the number to teach the inverted portion of the class and basically all I had to do with give some cues and let everyone do their thing. I helped one of my classmates try out a inversion prepping pose, and it reminded me of what it felt like to teach. I hadn't really been in a formal teaching position since university and it made me really glad. There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone become better than they are.

Class on Friday and Saturday were particularly exhausting. I was beginning to wonder when we were going to do more teaching and sequence learning, but today was all about both.

On another note, Saturday's class was all about back bends and I found my way into a new pose, Kapotasana. I'm pretty stoked.

Frankenbike

I have a new friend! If you don't know, I volunteer at a bike co-op called Bikerowave. So I had been keeping my eye out for a frame that would be my size so I could build a beater bike. In August a 1980s Bridgestone walked in and I claimed it!

I spent the last two months at Bikerowave building up this bike. First I needed a narrow hub, for the rear dropouts so I had to build a wheel that had such hub. This took about 1.5 months because I did it all wrong about 5 times. Never build a wheel. There is a reason why these things are done by machines these days. I'm not going relive the frustration that was wheel building, but I'm glad I got it done. The rest of the month was just spent digging through used parts bins around the shop and finding time outside of my regular shift to work on it. Luckily things have been slow so I was able to get some stand time in on Mondays when I volunteer.

Nothing matches. If you look closely, the cranks are different colors. My brake shifters are both left shifters and the pedals don't match. My brakes are different. So I have named my bike Frankenstein. In honor of the month it was born and the way I put it together. The initial strategy was to just get it functional so I wouldn't have to pay for gas anymore, and later I could change and improve stuff. But I kind of like it this way. I think I'll just leave everything as is except maybe make stuff more comfortable.