Category: Yoga & I
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Graduality and Edges in Practice
Breathing Formula A prerequisite for following the example in this post is an understanding of an expression such as: 4x 8-0-12-0 It is a formula for breathing, where the breath is made up of four parts: an inhale, a pause, an exhale and a pause. This particular formula indicates 4 breaths each of 8 second…
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A Seed of Meditation in Distraction?
I was nearing the end of a practice, sitting. I experience subtle flavors of sitting, but for me they are like dreams, hard to hold on to later. One of the prominent indicators is a feeling of being welcome in sitting. This time was like that. Another prominent indicator is an apparent interest to stay…
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A Living Sharpness
I’ve been experiencing an interesting convergence in my practice in recent weeks: As distractions dwindle, I feel more collected and focused. The short visit, at the end of practice, in maha-mudra is becoming more of a stay. I am settled again in a quality pranayama practice. I am experiencing more stability in my mind and…
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Dancing with Allergy
About 2 weeks ago first subtle signs of allergy appeared. It was a subtle itching sensation in the back of my throat. As the days went by the signs accumulated and gradually intensified … though for the most part subtle (in comparison to past years). The most stable aspect of my life is my daily…
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My shoulders, socks and lowerback … doing and not-doing
Shoulders My practice includes lying back bends with active arms. I start with my arms alongside my body and swing them “up above my head”. One of my focuses in this posture is softening and relaxing the shoulders every time my arms are placed back on the floor alongside my body. I have been working…
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Asana Practice – December 2016 (Before Review)
My current practice is: Some comments on asana: I forgot to note on the page that the practice begins with kapalabhati 20br + 30 br The repeated langhana pattern (3, 4, 16) of midrange and micromovements was gradually introduced to introduce a sense of containment. During summer I found especially during the first part of…
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Practice Reflection – Fall 2016
This reflection is long overdue … but my writing motivation is still low and my ability to do so fragile … I hope I can recall some of the subtleties that appeared along the way. Relationship with Practice My allergy period this year ended somewhere around mid-July. It lasted slightly less then two months. It…
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Summer 2016 Allergy continued: disturbanced, sleep, tick
After the first few days there was a drop in my sense of well-being. An initial blow came when I allowed a disturbance to take places – a visit to the city. I came back feeling tired, with a slight head-ache and agitation. The next day I was somewhat contained, I was able to get…
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Breath and Allergy – Spring 2016
A few days ago allergy symptoms started to appear and have been gradually increasing. A itchiness in my throat, eyes … and sometimes sneezing sequences. This morning, for the first time this season, I had to get out of bed at 5:45 to move myself into a vertical position (lying down aggravates the symptoms) and…
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Yoga Practice Review with Paul – Spring 2016
Following my periodic reflection I had another review with my teacher. Though my original intention was to focus on the pranayama sequence, the development of breath in asana and its relationship to pranayama called for some attention. The following changes were introduced to the asana sequence: Adding parsva uttanasana in the standing sequence. Continuing structured…
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Yoga on the Mat Practice – Spring 2016: Continuity
I’ve had a fairly continuous period of practice … the main interruption ironically due to my visit to Israel to study Yoga. There have been a few of minor illness / slight injury related interruptions. I’ve continued with the same practice plan. I have still not felt inclined towards exploring the alternative shoulder-stand path of…
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Svatantra: Entering the Temple of the Heart
My teacher reflecting on Svatantra … which is the theme that has most touched and informed my own path of practice “As his pupil my teacher worked at guiding me towards becoming increasingly independent in developing and refining more and more my personal practice skills so I became less and less dependent on him being the…
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Yoga on the Mat Practice – Winter 2015: Rediscovering Maha Mudra
As a result of a consultation (November 12th) with my teacher, my asana and pranayama practices were updated. Asana The practice offers me two paths to explore. I’ve tasted the inverted path twice … but have gravitated more towards the, similar to my established practice, maha mudra sequence. Some slight life-instability has expressed as a…
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Fall 2015 – Back on the Mat
Though I’ve written extensively about my practice during these past months I did want to note some current observations as part of my focusing for a review of my practices tomorrow with my teacher. Getting on the mat after being away for over a month was easier and smoother then I remember it in the…
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Summer 2015 continues Off and On the Yoga Mat
I arrived with a steady and evolving on-the-mat practice. It came to a sudden stop when a spring allergy suddenly kicked in. It took most of July for me to settle back into a practice … and then a lower back problem started. It felt like a muscular pain in my left-lower back … so…
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Yoga On the Mat Practice: Summer 2015
It’s been over a year since I wrote about my practice. It has been a period of regular practice but not of regular writing (which I guess reflects on my state of being too). I made a conscious choice to travel less (than I did in the previous period). That made for less interruptions in…
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Spring Allergy
Since being in Romania I’ve been dealing every year with an almost month-long period of allergy. When nature comes into abundance (and the air is filled with pollen) my body responds with disproportionate self-defense. I use faith, curiosity and loads of patience to deal with it, no medication. I am trying to signal to my…