Collected from my daily practice…
~ Shawn Tan
1. Getting used to the practice
It’s been a while since I started practising and while it felt good getting ahead with the asanas in the beginning, I recently got to wondering where all these lead to in the end.
If one of the aims of the yoga is to achieve mental clarity and well-being, what role would more challenging asanas play in achieving that?
After some pondering, I figured that as I got used to asanas, my mind had the capacity to wander as I was no longer single-minded in my focus of getting into the pose; the increasingly challenging asanas serve, in my opinion, to constantly bring my awareness back to the present moment.
2. Complementing the practice
As I contemplated where the practice was bringing me, I also started thinking maybe I would look better with more muscle mass; or doing more high intensity interval training would make me fitter to ace my annual national service fitness test.
With that in mind, I scoured the internet for a suitable complement and decided to do CrossFit. It works on mobility and strength which I thought didn’t go against my current practice.
A month into the CrossFit trial, I was happy with my progress. I had better stamina, running after buses felt easier, the sleeves of my tees felt tighter; more importantly I wasn’t losing my flexibility for it. I was satisfied.
3. Owning my practice
However, after the trial period at CrossFit was over, I decided it was the end. Amongst other reasons, I felt I had allowed myself to be consumed in this venture.
As I got more comfortable in my practice, I started entertaining thoughts of wanting more and worrying I wasn’t working myself hard enough. After gaining stamina, maybe next I would want to improve on endurance or reflexes and I would go down a rabbit hole.
There was nothing I needed to complement, what I had was all that I needed. I had brought my awareness back to my practice.