Be water in your practice
As we flow into a New Year, it’s time work water into our yoga practice. This blog will discuss the concept of water and how it applies to our practice. Water is an essential element for human beings in life. Water supplies the means to transport nutrients and brings hydration. The human body is composed of over 60% of water, yet we don’t apply water to our practice. Let’s bring water into our yoga.
Let’s exam water in a lake. There is no wind, storms, or other elements that move the water. What does water look like when it is still? Sometimes the water is clear, maybe it is cloudy but it is level. It takes an event to bring a ripple into the lake. Even when the wind comes it also goes which brings back the stillness of water. The human mind is very similar to this. Our mind constantly is moving, thinking, and staying busy. Taking moments to build stillness, like the lake water, is the ultimate goal in our yoga practice. Not only does this help bring presence, when you return back to your thoughts you think clearer. You focus on the things that need your attention. Breathe helps bring stillness to our minds. When your lake becomes rippled with continuous thoughts bring your attention to your breathe. Think to yourself breathe in and breathe out as you are doing it.
Water plays a role in our asana as well. As we move into a pose, water is inside the muscle, is moving nutrients around and posses elements to repair the muscles. When we release the pose water is part of the process of bring nutrients back to the working muscle. Think of the entire body as water and it is calm, balance.
Bruce Lee made the phrase “Be water my friend,” very famous. The ideology and symbolism are parelled in yoga. Allow your mind to be a lake to be the starting point for balance. When the mind comes into balance, the body comes into balance as well.