Monday - 6.45am just sun salutes (10 minutes)
Tuesday - 6.00am full practice (90 minutes)
Wednesday - had a very late night on Tuesday, got up at 6.30am and did a minimum practice (sun salutes, standing poses, a forward bend, a backbend.
Thursday - had another late night on Wednesday then had to leave home at 7.45am on Thursday to work an 11 hour day (excuses, excuses). I slept in until 6.45am but miraculously got to the mat for a few sun salutes before getting ready for work.
Friday - 6.00am, slightly more than half a practice (60 minutes): sun salutes, all the standing poses, paschimottanasana and janu sirsasana, shoulderstand, ustrasana, padmasana twist, no savasana. I had to leave home at 7.45am again today to meet up with a friend for coffee before work.
Friday evening I did a substantial Iyengar practice.
Overall this first week has been a moderate start. I'm definitely fired up and inspired about chipping away the hard block that has stood in the way of an early morning yoga practice for so many years. The aim is now to challenge my entrenched subconscious beliefs, do battle, and win.
Every single night for at least the past 2 years, I'd set the alarm for 6am with the intention of getting up for a yoga practice. Every morning I'd hit the snooze button, admit defeat yet again, wallow in a wave of guilt, then go back to sleep to deaden the bad feelings that were festering inside.
How can anyone illuminate the world when they enter each day covered with such a shroud of guilt?
I don't know what's suddenly changed in my psyche, but somehow I've shifted from denial to clear vision.
Spurred on by the Way Before Breakfast project (thank you to Rose) my simple intention to get up early every morning and do a yoga practice has grown clear and strong and I've made measurable progress by actually getting up every morning instead of turning over and snoozing.
Establishing a much more consistent practice will raise it to the next level..
As simple as this one intention seems, most of us know how difficult it is to investigate and overcome our resistance so we can transform our highest intentions into action.
It takes hard inner excavation work to expose foggy unconscious patterns, negative self talk and all our constant excuses for staying weak.
Authentic and rigorous mind training is absolutely essential on the spiritual path. By overcoming our mental obstacles, we are clearing the way for a seamless translation from intention to action.
The reward is the ability to express our inner purity through action in the world - an irresistible and powerful force.
My point is this: for me, establishing a daily morning yoga practice has nothing to do with physical wellbeing. It is simply providing me with the means for revealing all the rubbish that is polluting my mind and for systematically cleaning it up.
On a clear day you can see forever...
3 comments:
"My point is this: for me, establishing a daily morning yoga practice has nothing to do with physical wellbeing. It is simply providing me with the means for revealing all the rubbish that is polluting my mind and for systematically cleaning it up.
On a clear day you can see forever..."
This is such a wonderfully concise way to frame it, Nobodhi! I might have to borrow that when trying to explain the six-day-a-week practice to people who don't do yoga.
Having a community, a sangha, a group, or whatever you label it, is tremendously helpful in this journey -- or so I have found. I'm very grateful for those who are helping me at the present moment. :-)
Thank you for your passion and commitment to the online yoga community Rose. Apologies that my contribution is limited - work and family leave me with precious little time for yoga practice and even less for blog posting and correspondence.
I've recently gotten into yoga to try and wake up my body and mind in the morning and I've been having trouble keeping to a morning routine. I really admire your determination to get even a few minutes in, even if the day ahead looks very busy. I feel so much better on days that I roll out of bed in time to get on my mat and I hope it will become a habit soon. Thanks for the article to keep me motivated in the meantime, though!
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