Finding your authentic flow in yoga practice

Summersalt — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 10:55:36 +0000

By Ana Jovicic

Our bodies are slightly different every single day. How can you modify the yoga practice to meet your ever-changing needs and intentions?

If we would consciously stop to observe, we’d notice how tension and stiffness constantly vary across our body parts during the course of a day and according to seasons and environment. Subsequently, various types of stress stored in our bodies require different needs for release. In the mind of a beginner, those subtle changes are not so easily noticeable. But our bodies already know the answers we’re looking for – our minds just have to start listening to them.

To make this idea into action, imagine yourself complaining to a friend how stiff and sore your back is feeling over the past few days. You are probably rolling your shoulders back whilst you are saying this or giving yourself a 3-seconds massage. Your body intuitively responds toward meeting that need. Personally, adjusted practice simply means that you listen to your gut, set an intention to follow that first impulse, and take the time to fully satisfy your need, adjusting your movement as your needs alter throughout the practice.

As time goes by and your practice deepens, your body will become more responsive and attuned to itself. That’s when you can start the beautiful experiment of finding your fully authentic flow of yoga – the one that feels best for you. It may or may not fit into either of yoga-style categories. It will feel like a movement therapy created for you, by you.

Let your moves echo your needs

It’s not just muscle stiffness that can be released during yoga practice. Movement of your choice can induce the state of mind that you want to achieve, or give rise to the attitude you want to bring in life.

Dharma Yoga may fulfill your desire to challenge yourself one day, and the next day perhaps the strength and focus required in Vinyasa may seem more suitable to your energy level. Maybe you need to relax after an exhausting day at work and the deep restorative stretches of Yin Yoga sound just perfect.

To apply that idea to the free-flow in the safety of your home, try to merge all those styles into one practice if it feels right. You may find yourself enjoying the poses that embody gracefulness and surrender. After warming up, maybe you’ll be up for a more energized and powerful sequence.

Use familiar yoga poses as starting points for exploration, from which you can spontaneously unfold the upcoming movements. Following that intuitive rhythm will feel like intrinsic dancing, a moving meditation, an inner massage. You will want to come back to those juicy stretches and the flow, pulsating in your own rhythm of breathing.

Contradictory is the key

We are human beings, therefore we are full of seemingly weird opposites. Embrace these and free yourself from the „If I’m this, then I can’t be that“ talk. If you enjoy bouncing around your room to the hip hop beats and then doing a restorative yoga practice 10 minutes later whilst meditating on a fairytale you like, why not do it more often?

Yoga, just like any movement that respects your body limits, can be a form of creative and spontaneous self-expression. So be silly, play without judgment, roll around, tune into new body sensations, let go of the fear of losing balance, laugh at yourself when you topple over, don’t fight your wobbles and shudders – go with them. And when you get off your mat, try to take the same spontaneity and authenticity into your everyday life.

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Yoga-slacking? Stop feeling guilty about it!

Summersalt — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 08:20:34 +0000

By Milda Urban, Summersalt Yoga founder

Yoga, yoga, yoga… These days you can find an array of opinions and ideas about how it benefits you, what it brings to your life and how can you incorporate into your daily habits.

I love yoga. I have started practicing a few years back and continue to this day. However, I do not subscribe to the idea that yoga has to seep into your ever cell or take over your life and your decisions. (It does helps on multiple occasions though!).

I don’t practice yoga everyday, sometimes I take breaks as long as 2-3 months before I get back on the mat. And even though I believe in many truths the yoga philosophy teaches I surely do not follow all of them blindly (hence the glass of wine and sleep-ins).

At first I thought that if I wanted to truly experience yoga’s power I had to go to class at least 4-5 times a week and get new knowledge about it regularly. And I truly enjoyed it. Hey, I’m not joking, I really like yoga – I’m running yoga retreats, man!

Up to a point when I start feeling overwhelmed and that it is getting too much. I felt guilty – how can I cut back something I found to relate so much and now – after I’ve come so far? This questioning took over me for a while.

But after some time of soul searching, I realized that I do not have to be so hard on yourself and go against my nature. It is not for everyone to deeply immerse into the philosophy and it is not a crime to enjoy different types of physical activity or “mortal pleasures” (your mind’s dirty, my friend) too. I have also realized that taking breaks helps me stay fresh, learn more and easier than forcing myself to hit the studio when my intuition suggests the opposite.

I admire my friends who are yoga teachers and to who I can turn to with questions or inspiration. But even they are real-life people, who occasionally (or often) listen to gangsta rap, question whether the skirt makes them look too round in the hip area and read celebrity news.

Chillax (yes, I’m that old), don’t judge yourself and listen to your inner voice – this way you will gain the most benefits from this wonderful yoga practice and enjoy it to the fullest.

And for those who are still not sure what yoga actually gives you, I’ve asked our lovely yoga teachers to share their thoughts on how has yoga influenced their lives. Namaste!

Vanessa

Before I started studying yoga and yogic philosophy, I was much more short tempered and would get caught up in the minutiae of life. With practice, I have been able to integrate the belief that all things pass and are impermanent. It helps tremendously to get me to slow down, evaluate, and not react with such impulse and carelessness, but rather mindfully and with awareness.

Leah

Because of yoga, I have more patience and tolerance in my day-to-day life. Yoga has taught me to accept things as they are, without judgment or agenda and allow the passage of time to either change me (my physical capabilities, my mental blocks, etc.) or to change my attitude and view. I am learning the art of surrender thanks to my forever evolving yoga practice and that inevitably bleeds into every aspect of my life.

Caroline

When I fist started yoga I remember that phrase we hear so often ‘yoga will change your life’ and I just thought this as a rather ‘fluffy’ romantic idea, little did I know the power and enormous influence yoga and learning about yoga has made In my life and those around me. I do not believe it is necessary to change your life completely for yoga to influence you. I eat what I like, I enjoy wine, I have fun. Yoga is not about denying ourselves happiness but finding ways to balance and enrich ourselves so that we can better support those around us and learn the value of kindness to ourselves, our bodies and to others.

There are so many branches of yoga I find that different fields affect me in my day to day life and choices. I am very drawn to anatomy and physiology and therefore to the study of how the body functions and reacts to what we put in our bodies, move our bodies and the value of stillness.

My yoga journey really began in Tulum, Mexico and having lived there for 5 years taught me patience and the value of good friendships. I was lucky enough to live in a community, who supported me as I grew in confidence and experience as a yoga teacher.

The post Yoga-slacking? Stop feeling guilty about it! appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

intuition – Summersalt Yoga Retreats

Finding your authentic flow in yoga practice

Yoga-slacking? Stop feeling guilty about it!

Vanessa

Leah

Caroline