Letting the lessons sprout

10 Things that I have learned from my teachers other than yoga Asanas

In the 6 weeks of the teacher master training in Atmavikasa I have tried to live the yogic life the way the Acharyas (teachers) have suggested. It was not easy to completely dive into those changes straight away. Coming to India to study is already a big cultural adaption. In the beginning of the course I straight away had to assimilate to the rules within the course. The atmosphere the teachers choose to create is from a western perspective fairly strict and old school. That faced me with the first challenge, adapt to the surrounding, accept and embrace. I slowly started to surrender to my lessons and get the most out of this experience, so all of the effort the teachers and students put into this course will blossom and carry fruit. The following specifies a couple of basic principles that I have learned in the weeks of the teacher training. They might be aspects that I have already worked on in my life, but in those 6 weeks I had the chance to work on them on a deeper level.

The Power of silence

One of the strict rules the Acharyas define is to not speak to each other within the yoga center. What seems hard in the beginning, cause we are all excited and want to exchange experiences, becomes quite helpful in the end. The silence helps to save all the energy for oneself instead of putting everything out there. It contributes to keeping the focus within oneself. The senses and observations get sharper. Not speaking helps to work on something I am working on since a while. I want to generally talk less and mean more. So we can choose our words wisely and precisely. In our breaks we would all sit together in the garden and enjoy the plants, the silence and some fruit.

Focus

Focus plays a very important part in yoga, meditation and life in general. Learning to control my focus made me see once again that the focus is the key to success. If I really want to do something I do everything possible in that very moment to be able to do get there. Seeing and sensing the focus of my teachers and the other students in the class, made me realize what great impact it has when people get together and get completely focused, it is contagious. Focus is one of the basic elements you need to work with body and mind. Once the focus is there you can easily archive anything in life.

Getting deeper through pain

I have learned to work with the pain instead of running away from it. It takes patience and a strong mind to grow comfortable with the pain. All it takes is a big portion of courage to face pain when it arises and breath through it. It helps to be able to deal with painful situations generally in life . I certainly will keep reminding myself in painful situations to breath and grow from it. It gives more stability to life. In the end we can transform the pain to healing.

Inspiration from each single person

Sharing those intense weeks with the other students was a great enrichment.  The energy of every single person created the vibes. Hearing everyone speak in the public speaking classes touched me very deeply and made me see how precious every single experience is. I feel inspired by each soul. Everybody has a lesson to teach, if you are able to receive it. Making comparisons can be distructive so its important to remember to inspire each other to help one other to grow

Chanting

I have always loved singing. But chanting holy phrases with meaning creates something more than just a nice mood. It empowers the practice, it calms us down and tunes us into the right frequency. I can feel the impact of the words in my heart and mind. Even though I don´t know every single word literally translated, I can somehow sense the meaning. Chanting the right mantras for the right situation has a deep impact.

Listen to my own body

The body can´t speak in words so we have to find the right communication in order to understand it. What does it need and when does it need it? Sure there are the basics, water, food, rest and movement. With the suggested diet and the everyday schedule I could sense more of what is going on in my body. By eating certain foods and only at certain times, I could feel the effect of the food in my practice. In the asana practice I could feel my limits and actually feel when it´s possible to extend the limits with the power of the mind. A tip of the teachers was to go for a barefoot walk every day for about 30 Minutes. It has many positive effects like strengthening the lower back, regulating the nervous system, grounding body and mind, earthing connections to nature and there are many more great effects. The barefoot walking has helped me to slow down and connect to my body. Listening to my body helps me to lovingly care for myself.

Conscious eating

At the beginning of the course we were recommended to eat as many Bananas as possible.  There are many great benefits to eating bananas and I could feel how great they are for the body. But further than adding lots of bananas to my diet, I tried to eat no sugar, no spice and vegan. Once you get aware of what you put into your body, you can´t stop thinking about it. Every meal makes a difference. And I could feel it in my practice, in my mood and in my sleep. I have always looked closely at the food I am eating, but now I will stick with the awareness of the ingredients and where they come from even more.

Always be ready to improve

You can´t prepare for the right moment to work on yourself. Whenever the chance is there, use it and do the most of it in the very moment. Even though it feels uncomfortable. For example there is one certain Asana I have my struggles with. The teacher got me out in front of the class to show everyone my weakness. In that very moment I of course did not want to work on it, because I feel like there was a pressure on being exposed in front of everyone. If not now then when. I thought to myself. I felt like I needed to be prepared for this moment, but it just showed me, one has to be prepared anytime.

Selfpractice

The biggest lesson on teaching from our teachers is to get experienced and teach what you have experienced yourself. That’s definitely the most important device and the most important reason to keep going. The big challenge here is to motivate myself every single day to get up early and find enough time for the practice in my everyday life wherever I am. In order to motivate others to practice I need to practice seriously myself. Dedication for the practice, is one big lesson that I have regained.

Thinking long term

By keeping up the selfpractice and eating healthy I am investing in my future self. It doesn’t just serve me in the very moment to work on a healthy body and mind, it helps me work towards the person I want to be. I want to be a healthy, happy person that doesn’t give up because it might sometimes be inconvenient. If I want to do things the right way I have to keep doing the right things to keep walking on the right path. And deep inside we know what is right for us now and for the future. I realized that i have to set the right intension and be satisfied with my efforts.

Throughout the whole course there were two opposing energies arguing inside of me. My mind keeps assessing many situations. There is the one voice that sees the good in everything and the other one which always criticizes. A lot of things came up that I struggled with. On the other hand there were many things that I liked and appreciated about the teachers, the other students and myself. It made me remember the Native American wisdom that I came across once.

At the end of the day my life is what I make of it. And of course I want to create for the good, so i keep feeding the right wolf and keep the dark one tame.

Effortless effort

Breathe, relax and enjoy!

Sounds very pleasant, if I wouldn’t have to stretch, bend, twist, pull and hold every single muscle of my body meanwhile.  One of the biggest challenges I am facing in the yoga practice is to stay still and relax while holding the Asanas.

The way Yoga is thought often in courses in the western world is to do many āsanas and hold them for a couple of breaths. Such as Vinyasa- flow Yoga and the famous Astanga style. It’s a great workout. It looks and feels great to quickly do all those beautiful breath taking looking postures and they are good for the body and mind, no question about this. Yoga has many different styles, characteristics and facets. Over the years I have learned, if I really want to control the body I have to be able to move slow to make the move smooth.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines „asana“ as „to be seated in a position that is firm, but relaxed“. That means being stable and comfortable while holding a posture.

Why is it so important to do every Asana slow and mindful?

Holding an Asana for more than just a couple of breaths does have many benefits and challenges, which take effect on different levels.

Flexibility

One of the points of holding longer is to relax the muscles as much as possible, and hence to target the deeper connective tissues. During the long posture holds, the tissue is squeezed and twisted, which has a hydrating effect on the ligaments, tendons and muscles.  When performed regularly, the tissue will respond by lengthening and strengthening, resulting in greater flexibility.  As every Asana targets a certain group of muscles in your body it creates and releases a different energy within the body. Like this the āsanas help us to release certain blockages in the body, so the energy can flow easier. Without trying to move to much once you reached your stage of the asana, we should try to let ourselves sink into the posture, so the body can relax and enjoy the posture gradually.

Mind

When you slow down the breath and find stillness in your body, the mind quiets down as you relax the nervous system.

Yoga is all about feeling and perceiving the body. A lot of energetic work happens in the body. It is important to develop mindfulness to be in the here and now and to be more aware in my own self, without having thoughts about the past or the future.  By being present we learn to let the things happen and observe the body and the breath. Like this we learn to empty the mind that is always busy with thoughts, we learn to let the things be the way they are and accept that we can´t change them right now and better relax.

Awareness

Cultivate more awareness and reduce injuries. It’s easy to tweak your lower back or pull a hamstring when you move quickly. But if you move slowly with awareness in and out of the poses and hold them for a few minutes at a time, you can easily tune into the sensations and identify any imbalances or misalignments in your body. The slower you move the body the more you are in control.

Willpower

Build mental toughness. Yoga teaches us to be less reactive and to find comfort in uncomfortable situations. We are the creators of our own reality and destiny. All the strength and support comes from within ourselves. We just need to connect with it and keep reminding ourselves. There is the saying “Where there is a will, there is a way also.”  If you put enough effort you find your own way to deal with things. Everybody is different, therefore every Asana is experienced in your own way from your perspective.  There is another saying “The will can move mountains”, that’s of course just a metaphor, but it symbolizes the power of the will.

Emotions

On the mental layer lasting longer in the asanas helps to deepen the sense of self. Respecting my own body I learn to accept the emotions that come up so I can calm myself down. The āsanas can release deeply held emotions. As you open up tight, constricted muscles and free up blocked energy, it’s natural for emotions to rise to the surface, often in the shape of tears or feelings of agitation, fear or sadness. When you release those emotions, you feel lighter and more open. It teaches us to be able to withstand certain situations in life without being snivelling. Amenities get stronger with holding longer, so it happens easy that a little voice in the head starts to invite certain emotions like anger, furiousness, sadness, frustration or memories and pictures and old experiences come up. Holding it teaches us to be able to deal with those emotions and let them pass, so we don’t get thrown out of our emotional balance to quickly.

“I am not looking to escape my darkness, I am learning to love myself there.”

(Rune Lazuli)

Our weaknesses are our best teachers.

As I just mentioned, there are many benefits, but I also would like to mention the challenges that come with the slow āsanas also.

First of all we will face pain and  weakness. By really trying to sink into the Asana with every exhalation you will soon feel exactly where it hurts and what part of the body gets in the way of letting yourself come to the perfect final stage. The only way to reach the perfect final stage is to practice. Learning by doing!

There is no way to escape the pain, because it is a part of the learning process. The bigger the pain, the bigger is the transformation. After all the pain is the medium to get deeper and to get over it. It is about how we react to the pain.  How restless we get in the posture. It is up to our reaction to the pain, do you suffer or do you want to get deeper through the pain?

I always keep in mind that the pain will pass. It might not feel great now, but knowing that it actually is really good for my body and soul, helps me to get through it. Even if my body starts shaking and screams for an other movement.

There I face the next challenge. Stay in the moment and don´t think about the time. There is no rush, but in the back of the head somewhere there is the time ticking and my mind wants to go to the next asana. Staying in the moment and holding, seems so hard sometimes. I keep reminding myself to give everything I can in that very asana I am practicing in that moment. Time keeps pressuring us all day and night, but it is up to us to feel like being under pressure.

In the end of the day what would life be without the challenge. They make us stronger and braver. It is all about how we master the challenges in life and to grow with them. So adding slow mindful movements in the practice can help to slow down and find more flexibility and balance in body, mind and in all areas of life.