Guest guest Posted August 26, 1999 Report Share Posted August 26, 1999 Hello all,<br><br>I have been practising Ashtanga for several months now, and over the last few weeks it seems as though I am no longer improving my flexibility and balance - in fact, it sometimes feels as though I am losing some of what I had previously gained!<br><br>One thing that has occurred to me is that I spend more thought/energy on my alignment than I used to (effects of a few Iyengar classes!) and perhaps it is simply more difficult to achieve the asanas "correctly" than whatever I was doing before. <br><br>Anyhow, I hope that this is temporary ... I still enjoy my practise, but some days I have to fight my frustration with my own progress. Has anyone else encountered a spell like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 27, 1999 Report Share Posted August 27, 1999 PerlGrrl,<br>I think what you are feeling is completely normal and in fact expected. Astanga yoga very often times brings to the surface what lays dormant and facing our frustrations is just one of many skeletons in our closet. I often feel that doing yoga is a three steps forward two steps back process. It feels as if we are sliding back and losing (at times) what we have already gained but again this is just part of the process. Very rarely if ever is the path straight up, in or wherever. I often feel frustration when i am rather tight on a certain day and egotistically say to myself that i will never be able to fully do this or that pose but this is not the real point. We are not contortionist but practitioners using Astanga Yoga as our vehical. Take care and enjoy it all the ups and downs.<br>Namaste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 1999 Report Share Posted September 9, 1999 Hi all,<br><br> I wanted to relate my experiences. Imporvements in flexibility for me come in two ways. One is the improvements in postures I'm well acquainted with, which are usually small but continuous. The other is a bursty rapid improvement in a whole range of related asanas following a relatively quite (sometimes a ted frustrating period).<br> As for reduced flexibility... There are some asanas I can achieve only while being hot and in flow, but not 'cold'. These usually come around shortly, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 15, 1999 Report Share Posted September 15, 1999 "Just be happy where you are, and breath" (Raphael da Bora)<br><br>I'm in the middle (or maybe, I hope, just coming to the end of ... ) a spell of stagnation or maybe even regression in the outward, physical "progress" of my practice. This has been brought about partly by pressure of work but mainly by a severe knee injury.<br><br>But I don't mind, and I think this is one of the most important things that a few years of astanga practice has taught me. It isn't about outward "progress" in looking amazingly flexible, it's about doing the practice for its own sake and accepting that you are where you are. You're not competing with anybody else; you're also not competing with yourself yesterday.<br><br>Outward physical progress in the long term might - probably will - come as a side effect of regular practice. But for me one of the most important and profound things I've learned is, as one teacher said to me, "just be happy where you are, and breath". Which, when you think about it, is a pretty useful maxim for a lot of situations in life and not just for avoiding over-straining in asanas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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