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Veteran
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| It takes me more than 2, often more than 3 hours, to normally and totally complete my whole yoga practice program (standing postures, sitting postures, relaxation postures in between, inversions, savasana, meditation & aums).
My life and my job are flexible in terms of free time, so there are periods that I can enjoy this almost on a daily basis and then there are other periods that such a long, daily practice is totally impossible.
So, I was wondering and wanted to ask :
What is the best thing to do those days/periods of the year that you have very little, or almost no time for your asana practice?
I am totally sure that in such cases some yoga is always better than no yoga at all. But what would this “some yoga” mean?
To do just the standing postures or just the forward bends, or just the backward bends or just at least one inversion?
Or is it better to maybe go through the whole of your usual practice but in a fast way, by staying only veeeery few seconds in each asana?
Our teacher had advised us that we should in any case not skip and try to always do at least 6 minutes of the shoulderstand.
So to make my question shorter, what is the best thing to do if let’s say for a period of time you have only 20 or only just 10 minutes free for your hatha yoga ?
Kristi
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| if i need to speed things up, i'll do downward dog, supta padangusthasana, headstand and shoulderstand.
dog pose is a great full body warm up, supta padangusthasana opens up my legs, and the benefits of headstand and shoulderstand are something that i feel all day long.
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it kinda depends, though, on what my body feels like it needs. sometimes i'll want to get a nice little vinyasa going to warm me up on a cold morning, or take extra restoratives if i'm feeling beat up
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much like yours, my practice is generally 2-4 hours long. thankfully i have a job schedule that accomodates that, eh?
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
  
| kristi - headstand and shoulderstand are a great practice on their own. Dog pose or prasarita padottanasana if you don't do headstand. Throw in a couple of standing poses to start and seated poses to end and you have a full practice. It took me a long time to learn to customize my practice to less time, as well. I did not practice as long as you do but it always seemed to take at least an hour for me to do what I felt I needed. It is a good exercise in aparigraha/santosha and also good to learn sequencing. |
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| http://www.ashtanga.net/xcart/product.php?productid=16211&cat=251&page=1 |
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| kristi - 2006-09-26 4:02 AM
It takes me more than 2, often more than 3 hours, to normally and totally complete my whole yoga practice program (standing postures, sitting postures, relaxation postures in between, inversions, savasana, meditation & aums).
My life and my job are flexible in terms of free time, so there are periods that I can enjoy this almost on a daily basis and then there are other periods that such a long, daily practice is totally impossible.
So, I was wondering and wanted to ask :
What is the best thing to do those days/periods of the year that you have very little, or almost no time for your asana practice?
I am totally sure that in such cases some yoga is always better than no yoga at all. But what would this “some yoga” mean?
To do just the standing postures or just the forward bends, or just the backward bends or just at least one inversion?
Or is it better to maybe go through the whole of your usual practice but in a fast way, by staying only veeeery few seconds in each asana?
Our teacher had advised us that we should in any case not skip and try to always do at least 6 minutes of the shoulderstand.
So to make my question shorter, what is the best thing to do if let’s say for a period of time you have only 20 or only just 10 minutes free for your hatha yoga ?
Kristi
Dear Kristi: Are you the one from New Zealand? Anyway, from what you have written above about your practice and yourself, this is my suggestion:
- When you have short time, in your case (not in everybody's case), the best thing to do is to do only one single type of Asana, and think it in terms of creativity.
- But, if you are open to do something NON-Asana, then at such times, you can try meditation.
best luck |
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Veteran
Posts: 258
| Thanks everybody for your advise!
Neel, no I am not the one from New Zealand, I am from Greece. Could you please explain to me what you mean by “think it in terms of creativity”? Do you mean, practice just one asana but chose that one which raises creativity inside ?
And please tourist what does aparigraha/santosha mean ?
Kr
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| kristi - 2006-09-26 4:39 PM
Thanks everybody for your advise!
Neel, no I am not the one from New Zealand, I am from Greece. Could you please explain to me what you mean by “think it in terms of creativity”? Do you mean, practice just one asana but chose that one which raises creativity inside ?
And please tourist what does aparigraha/santosha mean ?
Kr
Kristi: What I remember is that I have seen you on a website. ??? And, I know you to be a good Yoga practioner. Have I written to you before? Anyway, what I mean by 'being creative' is Explore one pose from various angles, from your own creativity, because in your case, I believe you are ready for such an exploration. |
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Veteran
Posts: 258
| Ah! This is a very interesting idea! Could be called a kind of on-the-pose-meditation? Which I anyway try to do in my whole practice, but have never thought of doing in one and sole asana each time. Although I sometimes do this late in the evenings, sitting for a long time only in a deep forawrd bend. Then, also as tourist had once pointed out in a thread, I discovered that too much time in forward bends may sometimes be "cultivating" a kind of an withdrowal from the world / from your problems. This is indeed happening inside me, so I stoped sitting so long in such asanas and tried to "cultivate" more backward bends, that make me more "social", it is needed also for my job, which I almost abandoned due to my enthousiasm in yoga. But this is opening a new, biiig discussion and let's not get into it right now...
Yes, you have answered me many times before in this forum Neel and thanks a lot for this!
I so often need advise or just to share things on so many yoga matters, because I am all alone here, no Iyengar studios, no good/experienced/trustful teachers around, not many people doing yoga (or doing yoga in the "right" way) so I practice and read whatever I can find all alone, going on only by my instict and trying to find some long free period of time to travel once again to India and take some more courses.
kr |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Neel - this is the "other" kristi - not twisti kristi of the artistic photos 
kristi - do you have "Light on Yoga" or another good yoga book? Check out the yamas and niyamas. They are the first two "limbs" of the tree of yoga that are sometimes known as the ten commandments of yoga. Aparigraha is usually translated as non-hoarding and santosha is contentment. |
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| kristi - 2006-09-27 2:50 AM
Ah! This is a very interesting idea! Could be called a kind of on-the-pose-meditation? Which I anyway try to do in my whole practice, but have never thought of doing in one and sole asana each time. Although I sometimes do this late in the evenings, sitting for a long time only in a deep forawrd bend. Then, also as tourist had once pointed out in a thread, I discovered that too much time in forward bends may sometimes be "cultivating" a kind of an withdrowal from the world / from your problems. This is indeed happening inside me, so I stoped sitting so long in such asanas and tried to "cultivate" more backward bends, that make me more "social", it is needed also for my job, which I almost abandoned due to my enthousiasm in yoga. But this is opening a new, biiig discussion and let's not get into it right now...
Yes, you have answered me many times before in this forum Neel and thanks a lot for this!
I so often need advise or just to share things on so many yoga matters, because I am all alone here, no Iyengar studios, no good/experienced/trustful teachers around, not many people doing yoga (or doing yoga in the "right" way) so I practice and read whatever I can find all alone, going on only by my instict and trying to find some long free period of time to travel once again to India and take some more courses.
kr
Kristi: And, that is why you are a great student. Since you made above statement, I would suggest and again that is ONLY for you: Do not stick to one style. Form your own practice. You are such a person who is qualified for that. best luck. c u one day. |
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10 minute practice ?
