I’ve been practicing yoga now consistently for over three years. Relatively speaking that is really not much time at all. I am definitely still a baby when it comes to my yogic growth, maybe a toddler. As I grow with my practice, I am noticing subtle changes not only in my body and my physique but also in how I approach my practice, what I enjoy and how each pose is evolving as these changes take place and as I gain a deeper understanding of them and of myself. Most importantly, but least importantly for this context, I’ve clearly had some positive growth in my mental and emotional practices as a result of my yoga.
One of the most important aspects of this growth that I have been noticing lately is how alignment and focus can have a very significant impact on how I feel about my practice and how my practice makes me feel. I am finding my edges more often and more consistently than I ever have. The main reason for this is that I am one to almost always use blocks. I have no ego when it comes to where I am in my practice or what my body can do physically or how I might look. I simply do what I can do which sometimes is more than other times depending on the day and how much I’ve practiced recently. If that means I need a block to do Side Angle, then so be it.
The interesting and important aspect of this for me has been that I’ve learned to use blocks to maximize each pose for me no matter how I am feeling. This in turn has, I believe, allowed me to progress in ways that I might not if I were not using these props or thinking in this way. For example, I have always used blocks in Triangle. I simply don’t always have the flexibility in my sides or legs that allows me to go all the way to the floor. I sometimes wish I did but then always remind myself that if it were that easy, it would be boring and I would not feel the reward of progress.
Anyway, all of this brings me to the focus that I mentioned previously. The blocks have been important for these reasons but in addition they’ve forced me in a roundabout way to focus on my alignment and on how I move my body into all the poses and find those edges that make all the difference in my progress. Going back to my Triangle example, one of the reasons I use the block is to make sure I maximize that stretch at my hip. I personally tend to move into the pose from the side (and please NOTE here that I am NOT a teacher and therefore do not recommend that you necessarily do anything I say the way I say it but it does work for me). I kind of rotate my hip up to the sky as I stretch my upper body forward and down to the block. This has consistently (especially recently) resulted in not only a great, focused stretch at my hip but also a bit of soreness the next day that I just love.
In the same way, when I am doing side angle, I find that bringing the floor up to my hand just a bit allows me to get a full extension along my side from my shoulder all the way down to the outside edge of my trailing foot. Or when I do a revolved … well, anything, I use a block to make sure that I am getting the most of the stretch wherever I may be feeling the stretch. I often don’t even lift my back leg in revolved Half Moon because I find that I get all the stretch I need by using a block and focusing how I am aligning my body and how I am rotating and where, etc.
I think ultimately a lot of people new to yoga get lost in the way the poses are “supposed” to look. I know that I sometimes still do this. When I extend in Triangle or hear a teacher say to square my hips in Airplane, I often go there in my mind and find myself wondering if I look like I am doing it right rather then remembering that it is not about how it looks but how it feels.
I think this is one of the more important lessons that yoga can teac. It’s one that can be used on and off of the mat. In this culture of materialism and who knows who, it’s important to remember that it’s not about what I look like or how I am doing something. What is important is how I feel about what I am doing. Do I feel good? Do I feel like I am getting the most from what I am spending my time and money on? Or am I just trying to keep up with the Jones?
