One of the aims of yoga is to learn to listen to your body. This is a discipline that helps us look inward and become more familiar with ourselves – mind and body. Sometimes it can happen that the brain or the conscious mind is telling you that you are supposed to do certain aasans. However the body seems reluctant to do this. Have you experienced this? I have. And I got to thinking… Why is this?
The body’s requirements can vary
Our bodies are affected by our inner circadian rhythms, our age and overall health, stress levels. External factors such as work stress, the seasons and the outside temperature also impact our bodies. As such what you do in your yoga class should also vary and change. It isn’t just that you have to aim to perform a variety of different aasans to benefit various parts of the body, but also that you learn to comprehend what your body is telling you. There may be times when your body displays a willingness and ability to perform difficult, advanced aasans, and you may find you’re able to do what you could not do earlier. Equally there may be times when the body wants to pause and avoid the more demanding or strenuous poses. Both scenarios can occur in the natural course.
Learning to listen to the body
Sometimes the body is telling you “stop” or “not today” or “that hurts”. We sometimes try to overcome that inner voice; we silence it by telling ourselves that we mustn’t be lazy or inert and that we must keep striving and trying to get better. Now while there is no question that we must always try for progress and improvement, we all have our limitations. Each person has to recognize their own personal limitations and work around those. For instance there is no point in trying to coax a limb beyond the angle that it can physically achieve. That is simply a recipe for disaster: soreness, stress injury or even a ligament tear!
Often that inner voice of ours is the voice of self-protection. It may be telling us to slow down at some point in our lives. The body also has an efficient signaling system; where the presence of an illness or a disorder subtly manifests itself in little ways. Niggling aches and pains; discomforts you haven’t previously experienced – these may be the body trying to tell you something. At times it could just be telling us that we’ve had a tiring stressful day today and that all we want to do is the balaasan (child pose) or the shavaasan. Rather than the full daily yoga routine, sometimes, you need a bit of a break or to perform a few simpler variations. It is most likely that your body will recoup its energies and you will back to your usual routine soon!
The important thing is to learn to listen to your body; to be tuned in to your inner self. We must learn to listen, not ignore our body’s subtle messaging and to react appropriately. This requires compassion and patience; luckily, yoga teaches compassion and patience as well.