What You Should Be Doing In Warrior 1 and 2

The stuff you hear in a yoga class.

This in warrior 1 and 2...

"Push out through your legs."

"Push the mat apart."

Say what!?!

Let's keep it simple and basic.

The outside of your rear foot is what you should be focusing on.

You need to be pressing the outside edge of the back foot into the mat...THEN...and this is the important bit...

...make the action of dragging the back foot towards the front foot. 

The result is that the pose goes from an outward spilling of energy, to an inward and upward, gathering of energy.

...one is weak ...the other is strong ...you know ...like a warrior.

Peace out, J.

How To Make Yogic Decisions

If you're unsure about a decision you need to make. Here's some messianic advice...

Ask yourself if you're making the decision based on fear or values.

Fear might give you short term relief (vanity, ego). But in the longer term it may bring pain (grief, resentment, anger, regret).

A values based decision might bring short term pain (sorrow), but should stand you well in the longer term (compassion, joy, happiness).

CU in class, makin' good decisions, J.

Yoga Myth Bustin' - The Meditation Replacing Asana Myth

You'll sometimes hear a yoga teacher talk about how they used to do heap of asana. All the tough stuff.

But now they just do a couple of sun sals and some meditation.

Look, there's nothing wrong with what they're saying, unless they make out like they've progressed onto the sun sals and meditation.

Like advanced asana is a phase, on the way to a seated meditation practice.

Playing one part of yoga off against another, is not the yogic way.

Yoga's not a zero sum game, where you can decrease this bit, but because you increased this other bit, all's well.

This is a western way of looking at yoga and is not yoga.

Peace out, J.

P.S. Yes, I know asana means seat.

Yoga And Technology

Bet you're thinking this post is about how to use technology in yoga. Or if technology is compatible with yoga. That's main stream kid's stuff peeps.

You're here to read about yoga and technology.

How technology...

...cures diseases that kill humans.

...heals the sick.

...lifts nations out of poverty.

...brings water and food to desert tribal regions.

It's not that technology can be good or bad from a yogic standpoint.

Technology is being used for both good and bad.

It's just as yogis, we are grateful for the blessings it brings, and saddened by the destruction it causes.

I know! A weird trippy post, but I've been inspired lately. J.

How Yoga Makes You A Winner

Yoga is an infinitesimally slow process.  And too succeed at yoga, you are practicing the #1 winning trait.

Persistence

You are face planting and getting back up, and doing it again.

You are babying injuries through recovery. Listening to your body and learning.

You are showing up. 

Don't underestimate this.

There's a lot of shiny stuff out there, competing for your attention.

Persistence has a LOT to with winning.

Did you know most successful business men have failed many times before they made it big? True story.

Your yoga practice can make you win in other areas of your life.  It gets better...

You can also add non-attachment to persistence. NOW that's a winning combo.

The non-attachment makes it easier to get back on the horse.

We'll cover how non-attachment is not not-giving-a-shit (read it twice) another time. But know...

The more you practice yoga, the more you're practicing winning.

CU in class, winning, J.

Today Tomorrow Whenever Yoga

It's real easy to fall into whether your yoga is better today than yesterday. And you're all fired up about how great you're gonna be tomorrow.

What's wrong with that last sentence? Yep. No now.

Look, yoga is. That's it.

What happened yesterday and what's gonna happen tomozz doesn't matter. What's happening now? That's what's important.

Are you improving? Does it matter?

All that matters is showing up.

And when you do show up, all that matters is that you're breathing and are focussed.

The rest takes care of itself.

Yesterday took care of yesterday and tomorrow will take care of itself, when it arrives.

You gotta be. Just be. That's yoga. J.

P.S. Look, it's ok to look forward to your practice.

It's ok to be disappointed if your practice sucked.

But there's a time and a place for everything.

Look forward to your practice before you practice.

Be disappointed your practice sucked after your practice.

But during your practice there's no emotion. There just is.

When To Stop Practicing Yoga

There's usually asana that you are practicing to get into. Then there's asana that you can get into.

The question is, what do you do with the asana you're practicing to get into, once you can get into it?

Easy.

(Around) Half your practice should be going over stuff you can do. This is includes the highest level of asana you can competently achieve.

Now all you're gonna do, in the can-do practice, is ensure you can-still-do it.

The trick here, is to realize that once you can-do something, it takes less practice to maintain it.

The other half of the practice is stuff you're working on (usually your weakest area). This is the stuff you have to strap or block, or that you fall out of. Now.

At some point, you're gonna consistently nail the new stuff. This then needs to be incorporated into your can-do practice.

So, the bar is constantly being raised with your can-do practice. And new stuff (usually your weakest area) is being introduced into the can't-do practice.

People talk about yoga being balanced or yoga meaning balance, without really knowing what that means in a yoga practice. I know! Weird.

CU nailing it, J.

P.S. It might help to think of your yoga as doing yoga and practicing yoga.

The yoga you do is the stuff you can do.

The yoga you practice is the stuff you can't do.

Now half your yoga time is spent doing and half practicing.

Yoga: If You're Not Getting Injured, Are You Doing It Properly?

Yoga's a repetitive practice. Not only that.

But yogis are taking their bodies to the edge. Not over the edge. But close to it.

With repetition comes risk. With edge play comes risk.

There's enough risk, that at some point an injury is bound to happen.

Sure, we get wiser around injury management and prevention. But that's from experience being injured.

In the meantime, injuries happen. The thing is.

What if you've never been injured? Maybe you're not doing it properly.

CU in class, J.

You Can't Be A Good Yoga Teacher If You're Not Good At Yoga

That title is a mouthful. But here's the rub...

How can a person teach what they don't know? They can't.

A physics teacher can't teach physics, if they don't know physics. I mean, c'mon.

In the same way, a yoga teacher can't teach yoga, if they don't know yoga.

So. To be able to teach yoga, the yoga teacher must be an experienced yogi. And let me tell you. That path ain't short.

So, if your yoga teacher has only been a yogi - that's a yogi, not a teacher - for less than say a decade or two.

They are unqualified, J.