State of the Garden
One of my stay at home projects was to expand the garden to the sleeping porch, making for a lovely practice area off the room that serves as the yoga studio. Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and green beans are arriving.
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45-Minute Savasana
Yesterday morning, when I came out of savasana following my regular a.m. practice, one of my cats was happily stretched the length of my side with his chin resting on my upper arm. He had not been there when I first moved into savasana. I looked at the clock and realized that I had been in savasana for 45 minutes, which was ample time for the cat to get comfortable. It would be, perhaps, more accurate to say I had been in savasana for several minutes (exact number of minutes unknown) and many more minutes blissfully asleep.
I very rarely fall asleep in savasana. Falling asleep in savasana regularly is a pretty good indicator of sleep deprivation, which is something I make an effort to avoid for my overall health and happiness.
On Saturday night I had stayed out fairly late, enjoying a meal, followed by dessert and book-browsing with a friend. When I got home at around 11:30 I felt a strong need to write in my journal about my initial reaction to the tragic shooting in Arizona. The cats were excited that I was awake at that hour, so I also spent some extra time petting them. This meant I was awake about two hours later than is usual for me.
The morning wake up sound (currently a recording of the Sri Rudrum) went off at its usual 5:57 a.m. Oof. The temptation was high just to turn off the sound and go back to sleep.
I know from long experience that the next several days will be better if I get up and do my regular hour to an hour and a half morning practice, which consists of a little asana, some pranayama, meditation and meditation-related practices, and savasana, and then trust that I will find an opportunity for a quick nap later in the day. My practice is my center, my delight, my exploration, my grounding; at this point, I come close to saying it is an essential part of who I am. When I have a busy day scheduled–as I did yesterday–it is still almost unthinkable to miss the practice, though on rare occasions out of necessity I will shorten it to just 30 minutes of meditation.
It turned out that the end of my practice turned into the nap I needed. The practice followed by the blissfully long rest was, though, far more what I needed than staying in bed for longer and wondering when and whether I could fit in a practice later.
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A Key to a Steady Home Practice (Letting Go of Preconceived Notions)
One of the things most likely to keep us from having a steady home practice (whether asana or meditation or both) is being unable to live up to our own expectations or preconceived notions of what is a proper or good home practice. If we think that we need to do a certain amount for an established length of time or that we have to feel fit enough to do a particular range or poses than inevitably we will be challenged in practicing regularly in a busy life.It is good to have a set time and place for our practice and to try and practice for a length of time that will foster the growth and balance in ourselves that we seek from our practice. To stay steady, though, we have to be flexible with our expectations. When we are sick or injured or exhausted, it will be appropriate to do restoratives or a gentle practice rather than a more vigorous one, even if we are accustomed to doing more advanced asana. If we are pressed for time, even if we like to spend 45 minutes to an hour in the morning, perhaps we will do 25 minutes. If we usually meditate in a special place in the house, but we have to leave for the airport at 6am, we can find a quiet moment to breathe for three minutes before we leave the house and then meditate on the plane.
This morning, for example, I knew that the only opportunity to have a walk would be early morning because the electricians are coming for more work towards installing the solar panels. Having a walk on days I am working at home is critical for my ability to sit at my desk and concentrate. Instead of doing my usual 45-60 minutes of practice, which gives me time for some asana and pranayama before sitting for meditation followed by savasana, I chose to sit for 25 minutes and then go for a walk. I will practice more this evening when I am off work.
Once we give ourselves permission to be flexible about how much to practice and what, then it will be easier to stick to practicing. I think it is far more important to practice several times a week than to have a practice that is thorough and “by the book” but is only done sporadically. What are your challenges in developing a steady practice? If you have a steady practice, what has helped you stick to it? Have your expectations about what a practice should be interfered with your practicing?
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A Patch of Sunlight
This morning when I went for silent worship, I was in a seat that was in a delicious, warm patch of sunlight. Like a cat in such a spot, I was perfectly content to be still and completely happy. It is good, sometimes, to have stillness come easily, especially if it has been a challenge in recent days.
When my students ask me about starting a home practice, I suggest that they start with their favorite poses. If we start with what is challenging or what we like least or what we think we need to do because we think it will be good for us, it is easy to get frustrated or to find something else to do. Better to start with what is easeful and inviting and then work in the challenging aspects then not to practice at all.
