By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed
One of the definitions of
a metaphor is a figure of speech or object that is symbolic of something else.
In metaphorical language one event, place or thing is compared to a similar event,
situation, or even a person. In terms of a Yoga practice, the way a Yoga
practitioner approaches his or her own practice often matches how the
individual approaches his or her own life in many different ways. By mindfully
witnessing how we engage or do not engage fully in our own Yoga practice, this
awareness can give us reams of information about how we approach our own lives
“off the mat.”
For instance, lately I
have been seeing car insurance ads on television that are filmed during a mock
Yoga class. During the class, while in an inversion (of course!), the Yoga
student checks her phone to see if her car insurance bill has been paid. Ok,
while you may be thinking to yourself that you wouldn't actually
check to see if your car insurance company has received your premium check
while doing Yoga, how many of us sneak a quick peak at our cell phones during
class in order to check our text messages, while we tell ourselves “just this
one time.”
This constant urge to
multi-task may be found in all corners of our lives. For instance, we may be
answering our emails while talking on the phone, or even attempting to text
while we are driving. Some of these activities can put us in danger, such as
texting while driving. Other multi-tasking activities may be efficient at
first, but often doing multiple tasks at one time drains our energy and
diminishes our performance on these tasks. By noticing the urge to multi-task
while doing Yoga, your own awareness about your propensity to split your
attention and focus in other areas of your life will become quite
evident.
Of course, different
people have different levels of ability to concentrate and accomplish multiple
tasks at one time. However, the practice of Yoga gives us an opportunity to
truly relax and focus on simply breathing and moving our bodies for a set
amount of time. As you begin to ground and relax into your practice, you will
find yourself more easily moving from activity to equanimity. This occurs
naturally as you move through the more active part of a Yoga practice, which
includes flowing Sun Salutations, standing postures and balancing poses, into
the more restorative Yoga poses such as seated forward folds, hip openers and
Shavasana.
If you find that you are
having difficulty allowing yourself to move from a state of doing to a state of
being, practicing mindful awareness and progressive relaxation in Shavasana is
a first step to giving your body and mind the green light to simply rest. By
allowing yourself ample time to rest in Shavasana at the end of your practice, you also give your body and mind the message that a period of rest is
a priority for you during your Yoga practice. It is recommended to rest in
Shavasana for at least ten full minutes. This is generally the amount of time that
it takes for the body to cool down and for the muscles, ligaments and skeletal
system to reset into the more optimal alignment created by your Yoga
practice.
If you find that you feel
anxious or impatient with practicing Shavasana for ten minutes, this is a
wonderful opportunity to deepen your breath and witness the incessant urge to
always being in a state of constant activity. In order to shift from doing to
being, you may wish to practice progressive muscle relaxation while resting in
Shavasana. This is quite simple to do. You simple tense and relax each large
muscle group as you move around your body in a clock-wise fashion. As you begin
to be able to move more fluidly into the relaxation portion of your Yoga
practice, you will notice that it is easier to move into a peaceful state of
relaxation at the end of the active part of your day.
Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has
been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives
in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a Yoga and health-related freelance
writer and academic support specialist. She may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
