Mind/Body Roadtrip

  I started out a class last week at Gold's Gym, asking the students for suggests on where to lead our yoga road trip looking for a theme that the class was interested in.  Shoulder-Land, Hip World, Balance Island,etc, which then sparked the whole theme of the class of how our practice on the mat is very much like a road trip you would take in your car.  And this put the key in the ignition for a imaginative class, as I was trying to think of as many road trip metaphors as possible...


Well, getting on your mat is like getting in your car ready for the journey ahead.  The beauty of a yoga practice is that we do not have a destination to get to, just driving on the open road with no where specific to go.  Similar to the feeling when you get in your car and just feel like driving.  We begin to utilize our fuel source, our breath, in order to get us on the road...even if we just sit in the car for a bit without driving anywhere.  

Then we begin to move...depending on the "weather" inside your body it may take a little longer to warm up depending on the day.  On a cold day up north, it may take a bit of defrosting to get your engine going.  Or on a hot summer day, you may need to wait a bit for the air conditioning to kick in or to put your hands on the steering wheel (this is the slowing down process if you are starting your yoga practice feeling anxious).  

Once we are on the road, we may experience a numerous amount of conditions to a smooth ride, to a bump in the road, traffic, traffic tickets, road work and with that road rage, lots of green lights in a row, lots of red lights in a row, sun roof worthy driving weather, etc.  Very similar to what we experience on the yoga mat.  Our practice can be a wonderful tool to help us deal with the unpredictable ways of the road.  How we react on the yoga mat=how we will face a situation on the road.  Just for fun here is my list of Yogi Road Trip Metaphors.  Enjoy!  And safe driving!

THE YOGI ROAD TRIP

Body: Vehicle

Breath: Fuel

Key in the Ignition: Intention/Purpose/Goal

Poses that Bring you Ease: Open Road Driving

Poses that are Difficult: Proceed with Caution Sign

Hindering Thoughts: Traffic

Anger on the Mat: Road Rage

Working with an Injury: Roadwork (takes time to make "heal a road" or make an improvement)

Texting during your practice (really)?!? : Texting on the road (don't do it)! 

Green Light, Yellow Light, Red Light Stretching Method

Moving easily into the Stretch: Green Light-keep on moving

Muscles resisting: Yellow Light-yield-slow down

Muscular Pain: Red light-stop movement

Just like on the road, speeding (even if there are green lights) will not get you anywhere faster.  In fact, speeding through a stretch may get you a "ticket," aka pulled muscle and actually slow down your progress.

Practice/Drive Safely Everyone!  It's all about the journey, not the destination!  Namaste!

Julie