Namaste Yoga
The Five Elements, this beginning process could even take years before reaching a plateau! Some will get bored sooner than others. Others may one day realize their practice is on auto-pilot, sailing through the sequences without much thought, attention or effort being infused into their practice.
How do you infuse a stale practice with fresh energy?
Breath * Mind * Body
Tune into your next sequence. Without judging yourself, notice if there is an area to which you could apply more effort. Choose to pay particular attention to that element of your practice for a while, and see if you can make it more complete. Put your best effort in, and see what you get out.
Breath
Long, slow, complete, breath. Can you do that with every movement? Have you gained an understanding of ujayii? Are you able to maintain fluidity and complete focus on your breath throughout your practice? Breath is life! Tune into the quality of your breath and your entire being will reap the benefits.
Mind
Where are your thoughts while you are in practice? When you are on your mat, it is time to rest the mind. Imagine your brain as a pond: during your day there is a multitude of items that ripple the surface. Some float along the top, some sink in, but all change your mindset. During practice, the goal is to allow the pond to be still, no ripples. Ease and balance only, can you find this restful state?
Body
Are you as far into that chair pose as you can be? Be sure you execute every pose to the best of your ability, every time! This requires attention to practice. You can also shake things up a little bit with some subtle changes to the sequences. Imagine, for instance, that your balance in Warrior III is easily attained and standing up to deepen the pose actually feels like less of a challenge than staying in the pose? What would happen if you dropped into Needle, instead of returning to Mountain, and then rose back into your Warrior?
Originally published at https://www.akwa.be.