I'm currently studying Seasonal Yoga and we are looking at the season of Spring just now. This week's task is to look at Ahimsa - or non-violence - in yourself, your practice and your teaching.....so I thought I would revisit this blog post from around a year ago since it is on the subject...enjoy!
"Tonight is the first time is some weeks that I have come to my mat for my own practice.
My health is not good - my adrenal glands do not produce the hormone cortisol , that is essential for life itself, vitality, energy, immunity and much more.
Once again I have found myself sick and weak and feeling lifeless - I have had no energy even to roll out my mat to lie on it. I've stubbornly avoided it.
But tonight I came to it for myself. I lay there in savasana (corpse pose) just breathing. I even hung out in uttanasana for a while (standing forward bend). I spent several minutes in balasana (child's pose) - I was still, I rested, I turned inwards and heard the rhythm of me. I heard the tiredness, I heard the restlessness, the worry , the fear but I heard it all and stayed with my breath.
Admittedly, these may have been short periods of time but for me, right now, these minutes were a lifetime! I became restless and uncomfortable and so I eventually moved but I stayed with it for as long as I could.
And that's all you can do. Your best.
Tune in; listen to your body, your life-force - breathe.
Don't be forceful and judgemental.
Whilst it is important in yoga to stay with the breath and work with the restlessness, inability to sit still and so on, it's also important to practice Ahimsa (non-violence) and compassion for oneself. Be careful and gentle with yourself.
You came to your mat. You listened. You moved. You breathed.
It is better that you came here than not at all.
You did your damn best and you are a warrior!"
Namaste,
Austen x
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