Battlefield Yoga
How I courageously step out onto the battlefield of my yoga mat each day
I’m learning a lot about being truthful right now. At the ripe age of 42 it seems I’m finally getting confident enough to look myself in the mirror and see the truth, after a life time of delusion aimed at keeping everyone else’s life simple.
Much to the horror of my children and partner, it would seem that listening to the theme tune from Frozen on repeat for months on end has taken effect, and I really am Letting Go with my truth. Its causing havoc, and I am loving it!
As part of embracing my courageous, profound self honesty, this week I want to share with you my own dirty little secret truth, my personal battle field, which will surprise some of you, but not all of you.
I really struggle to do my daily yoga asana practice.
This is not a good confession from a yoga teacher! I am the queen of excuses, the queen of distraction, and the queen of making everything else more important. I’ve been dedicated to practicing yoga for over 15 years, and I have never once regretted getting on my mat. So I find it bewildering how it is still such a daily battle field for me.
In the early days, I used to ask my teachers when that would change, and they would all smile knowingly and say that it would… but it hasn’t, not yet.
It’s the real reason I teach yoga, because it forces me onto my mat to fulfill the non-negotiable tenant of teaching yoga; you can only teach if you have practiced. Teaching a yoga class without having done a self practice feels fraudulent and foggy, it’s not a good space to be in.
All of my excuses are nonsense, because here is the truth: When I do my yoga practice, I get more achieved in the day. When I do my yoga practice, I feel happier and life is good for me and all around me.
When I do my yoga practice, I get inspired, ideas come and I feel divinely connected to the Universal Energy of kindness, light, joy
So why on earth the battle?
TRUTH.
I think there is a connection here to truth.
On my mat, I have to face facts, because the truth stares me in the face. This is not a comfy place to be, there are some truths that scare me to the core and are really rather inconvenient for the smooth flow of things. I want to ignore these truths so I continue moving through the fog of delusion that is slightly numb and fuzzy. Not sharp and true.
ROOTS.
I think there is another connection here to root chakra.
Asana practice is about the physical, and root chakra is about your physical reality. I have no problem finding time for meditation, or writing, because these are upper chakra activities to do with expression and connection. But my physical asana practice is HARD. It requires my presence in my body. I can’t escape and float up with the fluffy clouds of my head, I have to be down here on my mat. And that is a place that I sometimes find deeply frightening.
HOW TO GET OUT OF BED AND COURAGEOUSLY FACE THE MAT.
If you struggle with your commitment to practicing a physical yoga practice, here are my tips which help me every day. I’d also really love to hear yours (I need all the help I can get!).
1. Mornings are the ONLY time for a daily yoga practice – any other time of the day there is food to be eaten, people to speak with and tasks to be completed.
2. Make a space in your home that everyone knows is your yoga space, even if its just the foot space down the side of your bed. Make it feel special – add candles, essential oils, flowers and keep it clean.
3. Make it realistic – I start with the intention to do 10 minutes. It usually grows from there, but even 10 minutes a day makes a world of difference.
4. Go to bed before 10pm and set everything up the night before so that you awaken with the tone set. As you lie in bed drifting off, picture yourself getting up the next morning, and feel in your body how good it feels to have practiced.
5. When your alarm goes off, remind yourself that waking up at 6am feels exactly the same as waking at 7am, so you’d just as well get it over with.
I hope these 5 tips help. If you’re interested in doing some super short yoga sequences, check out my free classes on www.happysexymama.com. They are there for you.
I don’t know if getting to my mat will ever get easier for me, but I am enjoying the process of observing and learning from myself, which if course is the whole point of the asana practice. Observing. Feeling. Being. So with that in mind, I’m going to go now and get my mat out, and do those 3 things – observe, feel, be. And afterwards, the day will feel a whole lot more light, spacious and joyful!
Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the box below – let’s help each other get onto our mats!
Namaste
Storykeeper: Sonja Lockyer
Sonja Lockyer is a movement, breath and meditation consultant who specialises in creating rituals that her clients can take home and integrate in their normal lives. By sharing ancient tools in a way that is elegant, intelligent and simple, she brings them to our contemporary world and makes them applicable, accessible and practical. Clients include corporations, schools and hospitals as well as individuals who feel called to ignite something within them above the mundane. Website: http://www.sonjalockyer.com
