I'm glad to say that I'm back on track with my yoga practice. I did try to practice at least 4 times a week, but realized I was practicing less than once a week. I was still walking and riding my exercycle, but not as much either. I just hadn't noticed it. I let other things take over. Not anymore, I am finding my yoga again.
I realize that when I started cleaning out all of the old stuff from my closets and rooms, and gave away clothing I didn't need anymore, I did less of all of those things. As I moved from room to room, I was practicing less and less. I was aware of it at first, but when the holidays rolled around, I must have gotten too busy to notice. There is a correlation to it, I started to slip in my eating habits too. I still ate healthily, but added the stuff people gave me at work and from friends, etc. But like I said before, I still managed to keep my diabetes under tight control.
So right before I got sick with the infection, I made it a point to reconnect more with my practice. Many yoga enthusiasts may agree with me; yoga is the only exercise that one can practice in bare feet that doesn't involve water or a beach! I love to walk around at home in bare feet. I would walk around barefoot outside too if it were safe. You never know what you're going to step in; or on.
But from the moment my bare feet touch my yoga mat, I have an instant connection with my practice. I stand in mountain pose and spread my toes and feel the familiar support and rubbery feeling of the mat. It is softly comfortable. My mat is made of re-cycled rubber and doesn't contain any latex. I bought an extra wide mat, so I could lay in corpse pose when I first started meditating. I have a smaller one for travel. As soon as I spread my mat out on the floor, I am in yoga mode. I generally practice in the same place, because I like to have some space. There is too much furniture to bump into in the other rooms, or they are too small.
That first step onto the mat brings a smile to my lips. I am in the moment and ready to begin. I often close my eyes during various poses. It's become an almost automatic response. I'm not sure if many people do that. I feel a better awareness of what my body is doing and tap into what I am feeling. It seems to give me a better awareness of what is going on with my body. It's a sort of pleasant response when I am doing a pose correctly and holding it. It also seems to deepen my sense of happiness and spirituality. I feel closer to god when I practice yoga, meditation and walk outdoors in nature.
I have a habit of smiling throughout practice as well. Moments during practice give me a feeling of pure joy and even bliss. It lasts for a split second and is incredible. Then I feel happy for the rest of the day. I get the joyful feeling whenever I am more flexible than before, or can do a pose I couldn't do well before. The first time a held tree pose for more than a few seconds, I lost my concentration because I became so intensely happy I could do it. I lost my balance and fell over.
Yoga will bring out both negative and positive emotions when you start practicing. Its a phenomenon of yoga. As you may know from reading other posts of mine; it also happens in meditation. You should ride the tide of the emotions and let them drizzle away as you keep practicing. They will stop eventually. They seem to come out because you are ready to deal with them. You are purging them as your body responds to yoga and your body and mind heals. You will start to become mindful naturally as you continue to practice. I became more aware of what I put in my mouth to eat and what came out of it when I speak. When I don't practice enough, the mindfulness isn't as strong. I've embraced mindfulness. My life wouldn't have changed so much without it. This is the body mind connection.
I realize that when I started cleaning out all of the old stuff from my closets and rooms, and gave away clothing I didn't need anymore, I did less of all of those things. As I moved from room to room, I was practicing less and less. I was aware of it at first, but when the holidays rolled around, I must have gotten too busy to notice. There is a correlation to it, I started to slip in my eating habits too. I still ate healthily, but added the stuff people gave me at work and from friends, etc. But like I said before, I still managed to keep my diabetes under tight control.
So right before I got sick with the infection, I made it a point to reconnect more with my practice. Many yoga enthusiasts may agree with me; yoga is the only exercise that one can practice in bare feet that doesn't involve water or a beach! I love to walk around at home in bare feet. I would walk around barefoot outside too if it were safe. You never know what you're going to step in; or on.
But from the moment my bare feet touch my yoga mat, I have an instant connection with my practice. I stand in mountain pose and spread my toes and feel the familiar support and rubbery feeling of the mat. It is softly comfortable. My mat is made of re-cycled rubber and doesn't contain any latex. I bought an extra wide mat, so I could lay in corpse pose when I first started meditating. I have a smaller one for travel. As soon as I spread my mat out on the floor, I am in yoga mode. I generally practice in the same place, because I like to have some space. There is too much furniture to bump into in the other rooms, or they are too small.
That first step onto the mat brings a smile to my lips. I am in the moment and ready to begin. I often close my eyes during various poses. It's become an almost automatic response. I'm not sure if many people do that. I feel a better awareness of what my body is doing and tap into what I am feeling. It seems to give me a better awareness of what is going on with my body. It's a sort of pleasant response when I am doing a pose correctly and holding it. It also seems to deepen my sense of happiness and spirituality. I feel closer to god when I practice yoga, meditation and walk outdoors in nature.
I have a habit of smiling throughout practice as well. Moments during practice give me a feeling of pure joy and even bliss. It lasts for a split second and is incredible. Then I feel happy for the rest of the day. I get the joyful feeling whenever I am more flexible than before, or can do a pose I couldn't do well before. The first time a held tree pose for more than a few seconds, I lost my concentration because I became so intensely happy I could do it. I lost my balance and fell over.
Yoga will bring out both negative and positive emotions when you start practicing. Its a phenomenon of yoga. As you may know from reading other posts of mine; it also happens in meditation. You should ride the tide of the emotions and let them drizzle away as you keep practicing. They will stop eventually. They seem to come out because you are ready to deal with them. You are purging them as your body responds to yoga and your body and mind heals. You will start to become mindful naturally as you continue to practice. I became more aware of what I put in my mouth to eat and what came out of it when I speak. When I don't practice enough, the mindfulness isn't as strong. I've embraced mindfulness. My life wouldn't have changed so much without it. This is the body mind connection.
