I had my second night of yoga last night. After the day I experienced, my practice was anything but focused. My mind was on all the things that went wrong. I was heavy in my movement, hardly caring about what I was doing. The whole class was thumping and bumping through the flow. I was sore from the day before, trying to push myself too hard and not listening to my body. Normally, when I go to yoga, whatever burdens me is lifted. Tonight, it didn't work that way.
It was a disappointment after the motivation and intention that filled me just the day before. I treated the practice as just another thing I had to do, and that didn't work.
This morning, I did 20 minutes of yoga. The same thing occurred - I just did it because I was supposed to, and I didn't really think about what I was doing. Where did the intention go?
This week is themed "Presence". I'm not doing very well thinking about what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe it's because I haven't made any radical diet changes, but whatever it is, I hope it clicks eventually. I don't feel like I'm actually on a journey, like I'm doing anything differently. But these are the early days, and I'm sure I'll feel that way soon. For now, I'm having trouble with it.
The same thing happened to me during my second week of my month long Bikram yoga class. The first week and a half was great because I was pumped and excited, and THRILLED with how well my body was coping with the humidity and the 110F temps and the poses, considering I've NEVER worked out before in my life. Second week was a total drag. So you're not alone: it happens. =/
ReplyDeleteIf I could offer some advice, I'd say just try taking deep breaths in between poses when you think you're all over the place and not getting the most out of it. It'll calm you down and bring you back into the moment. What helped me a lot was getting there about 15 minutes early, quickly changing into my bra and shorts, and just spending those extra 10 minutes flat on my mat, eyes closed, concentrating on my breathing. It gave me time to push back the events of the day and my preoccupations, all that.
You can totally do this, Carson. :) I'm looking forward to reading more about your yoga journey.
Thanks for your great words, Huma. Totally appreciate it. You helped me focus my practice this morning! :)
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