“Practice is the best of all instructors.” – Publilius Syrus

Weekly Focus: Abhyasa (practice)

Abhayasa is a dedicated practice, typically to achieve a state of harmony or tranquility, or to cultivate a skill. Yoga is a lifelong practice that is cultivated with consistency and continuous check-ins. We remind ourselves this week that there is always something to practice, and it is the act of practice itself, not simply the achievement, that unfolds wonders within us. 

Ironically, this week’s theme brings to mind repetition, which can sometimes be interpreted as building habits, something we analyzed last week with the focus of samskaras. However, more so than just building habits, abhyasa or practice is about intentionally putting in the work to grow, to improve, and to cultivate whatever we are looking for. Abhyasa shouldn’t be mindless or reactionary. When we arrive for intentional practice, we know what we are showing up to do with awareness and dedication.

Practice as an adult does require determination, and devotion. As a child, you may have had a parent or adult figure reminding and encouraging you to practice  skills even when you didn’t want to – piano, soccer practice, homework, etc. Without a guardian to watch over us, we must navigate that boat on our own. This is what makes practice as an adult so powerful. We are using our own autonomy to decide what we want to cultivate, and giving ourselves the power and place to build towards it. 

Do you consider your yoga practice a “practice,” or is it something else? In what other ways do you practice to cultivate, or where would you like to practice more?

Here is a simple practice in building your practice:

1. Create a commitment — commit to setting time aside your whatever you wish to practice each week. If you are knew to yoga (or any other activity), you may start small with only one or two days. If you have been with is for longer, challenge yourself to work on the skill three or four times a week.
2. Arrive with intention — honestly analyze what you would like to focus on and build. Arrive with the intention to be humble and curious, allowing space to grow. 
3. Give yourself grace — progress is not linear. When your practice goes astray, or you don’t make strides as you may have intended, pause and remind yourself that practice is about the journey, not the achievement. 

Passive Pose of the Week: Sucirandhrasana (eye of the needle pose)

Sucirandhrasana is grounding and supportive, wonderful qualities at this transient time of year. It also provides a still place for us to cultivate awareness of our bodies and our breath.

• Begin lying on the floor with the soles of your feet touching the floor, so the knees point to the ceiling.
• Draw your right knee into the chest. Cross the right ankle over the left knee.
• Stay here pressing the right knee away with your right hand.
• If you need more sensation, float the legs and grab behind the left thigh or in front shin. Pull the legs in as close as is comfortable.
• Stay for about 5 – 7 breaths before switching sides. 

This is a great pose to offer yourself some resisted stretching. Resistance stretching activates the muscles and tendons around the joins and can help bring more awareness to the action of the stretch. To bring resistance to this pose, practice near a wall. Set yourself up so that you can press the floating foot (in this case the let foot), against the wall actively. Press your right knee away with your hand, and at the same time, push the knee back into your hand. Notice how practicing in this way may light up the pose differently than a passive stretch.

Active Pose of the Week: Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose)