Advanced yoga is…
Contrary to popular belief, practicing yoga on an advanced level cannot be reduced to the level of execution of a yoga posture (asana). Or the number of repetitions in a sun salutation.
Asanas are the physical approach in yoga. Per definition it is simply a tool to help you awaken your sense of consciousness. It starts by controlling your major limbs, your arms and legs. Rooted deeply into the ground, you sense how the weight of your body is distributed on your feet. While many folks simply feel their feet pressing on the mat, a seasoned yogi/-ni realises quickly whether the inner or outer heel is bearing most of the weight. Or whether the feet are pronated or supinated and the consequences of an uneven foundation on the entire skeletal stability.
Behind the scenes, back when Ioana was preparing for the Deep Flow Yoga Teacher Training manual.
From there basic poses lay the groundwork, for what’s to come in more complex asanas. And asanas are what most yoga students are looking for, as nearly everyone answered in my survey (Feb. ‘21)
Be Present
But as I have witnessed over and over in classes, it all comes down to the attention that you give the present moment. If you are not able – or willing (which by the way is often the same thing) – to create a strong and devoted concentration to your practice, you’ll never get beyond the point of using yoga solely as a physical activity.
Like that you’ll remain a lifte-time long beginner yogi/ni, fooling yourself thinking that by practicing in a detached way you’d gain something beneficial. But you will remain stuck with the same tensions in your body and limitations of your mind. There’s no external quick hack to overcome this step. No 21 days or so program, no workshops or intensive weekend trainings can shape you into an advanced yogi!
Commit to Your Practice
It starts with how much you are truly willing to engage yourself in.
How willing you are in committing to your practice and what priority you give your practice in your daily life.
We humans like to complain – complain a little, often complain a lot, specially about being busy in our lives. But is this really so?
Are we truly that busy that we aren't able to squeeze a short yoga practice into our daily schedule? A practice that we all know will help dealing with individual ailments?
I’d rather think that we humans have developed a sophisticated system to find excuses on why we don’t have time for something that we know would be good for us. Preventing back aches, opening congested muscles and tight fascia, helping with digestion, decluttering your thoughts, all this can be gained instead of continuing to procrastinate.
“Humans keep making the same mistakes because they refuse to set aside trivial preferences.”
It seems to be just so much easier to dwell in the bliss of ignorance.
Let’s break this down for the argument’s purpose: your knee has been hurting for years and you have been seeking advice from a physician or acupuncturist as they should be the ones knowing what to do about it. But then, during all this time, no real improvement could be noticed.
Why is this?
Because you weren’t willing to putting enough effort in to feel better. You need to trust yourself and you alone have to take responsibility for it. And this needs to applied everywhere in your life, regardless whether it’s a knee issue, a sleeping disorder or a job that you don’t like!
The question here is what does it take you to mustering up the courage and motivation to break this path of passive non-action? Only taking action make things move.
My answer to everything is within my own yoga practice. While opening the body and expanding your mind, realise when and how your knee starts hurting. Identify the precise moment that your knee starts hurting and where the issue is located, study your body’s position when the pain arises. It means that you begin to open your senses and increase your consciousness about yourself.
This is the moment that you start expanding your awareness. And you use your painful knee as a starting point.
Now the yoga begins.
It is an endless journey into the unknown without any goals to achieve or any precise destination to arrive in. Your yoga practice gives you constantly the opportunity to see behind your blind spot. And for this you need to keep practicing, every day, again and again.
In this sense, see you on the mat!
XO, Ioana