Friday, April 8, 2016

Yogi Chronicles: No Gain In Pain

Some background for you on yoga.

Yoga is a philosophy of attaining mental, physical and spiritual happiness through different mental and physical techniques that are practiced on the regular. Yoga has what is called 8 Limbs of Yoga which act as guidelines on living a meaningful and purposeful life. The limbs are:

1. Yama – Abstentions
2. Niyama – Observances
3. Asana – Postures/Poses (What folk are familiar with)
4. Pranayama – Breath Control
5. Pratyahara – Sense-withdrawal
6. Dharana – Concentration
7. Dhyana – Meditation
8. Samadhi – Contemplation

Ahimsa, one of the five yamas, means practicing non-violence; causing no harm. There are three types of ahimsa: intellectual, verbal and physical. While teaching class, or in the captions of my pics on Instagram, I always mention to do what makes you comfortable and listen to your body. There is no gain in pain, in yoga.

During my 8K training, there were times when I'd want to push my body to go a little further without stopping to walk. At the same time, I didn't want to hurt myself during training, and risk not being to run the day of the race. So, I had to listen to my body, and accept what I could do in the moment. Came race day, my body felt great. My goal was simple: Finish! I finished, broke personal records, and had fun along the way. I think that was my body's way of thanking me for listening. :-)

Namaste.

K to the...

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