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| I was just curious. I don't have a teacher (can't afford one, and I'm a bit agoraphobic, but that's another story...) so I have to get by with dvds & what I can learn online or in books. Today I'm in a crappy mood, and I swear it affected my practise. Much as I tried, I couldn't seem to keep my ujjayi (sp?) breathing, and I was more wobbly than usual. During savasana the only time I truly relaxed was when my dog decided to come & investigate & give me kisses on my nose (I know he could sense my tension, believe it or not...) I've never had this experience before, and I wondered if it is common? Curious, Echo |
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| Everything can affect my practice. My mood, the weather, my harmones, anything. Somedays everything comes together, I hold those balances, my hamstrings let me bend as much as I want and my breathing is deep and cleansing. Then there are days where everything I do is a battle with my body. I fall over, my toes feel like a mile from my nose....its just hard. BUT I battle through it. Thankfully, my practices generally fall somewher in between.
I wish I could tell you that I can tell by my mood or whatever how my practice will be, but I can't. Somedays I feel awful and have an awesome practice, though some days I feel good and had an awkward practice. Its just part of it....seeing what happens!! Respect and listen to what your body is telling you...that's what yoga is about!
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| So it wasn't my imagination! Ha, I knew it!  LOL Thank you for your reply, Tiger. BTW, I think my nose is ALWAYS a mile from my toes!  Namaste! Echo |
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| Oh BTW, Echo...the "Tiger" in my name comes from the fact I went to Clemson 
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| Well, d'oh! Of course does mood affect your practice. I noticed that good mood can affect your practice as negatively as bad mood though. I guess the secret for a good practice is calmness and unconnectedness. I always had the best practices when I just didn't care.
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| Tiger - You went to CLEMSON?!?! WOO-HOO!!! LOL We are a Clemson family (though I didn't go there myself, my brother did...) - I live in Greenville, just 30 minutes away. I'm not into football, but the rest of my family are season ticket holders... yawn. LOL Stephan - thanks. I'm hoping the good moods will help me improve my asanas. I was hoping that my practise & good breathing would help improve my mood today - it just didn't happen & the more it didn't happen, the worse my poses were - makes sense, I suppose! Thanks to both of you, Namaste, Echo
Edited by Empress Echo 2005-03-22 2:46 PM
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| afroyogi - 2005-03-22 12:13 PM
I noticed that good mood can affect your practice as negatively as bad mood though. I guess the secret for a good practice is calmness and unconnectedness.
Deffinately! Last week I wasn't humble enough, too much energy, too much heat in me.
I find whether you are in a bad mood, or very good mood, the mind is not calm, the breathing irregular, thus it's hard to concentrate and connect. |
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| That's it exactly, Jane - I just couldn't get into sync with my breathing & concentration. I do hope with time, however, that my practise will help me to do just that, despite those moods... but that will be a little further down the road for me!
Namaste, echo |
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| Dear Empress Echo:
It is always the Mood which affects the practice. Mood means WHATEVER, to be discussed some other time. When the practice is good, it means the mood was such that it was good for the practice. If the practice is affected by Mood, then one has to think whether it is a problem situation. In that case, one should have the practice which is meant to improve the mood first. That means the aim of the practice is to improve mood. And, then one should take up another practice. Otherwise, the practice will never be really good.
Best Luck
neel kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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| I am printing out your advise, Neel - it is the wisest I have heard yet, and something I ought to think about more often. Thank you very much!
Namaste, Echo |
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| After all these years what I have learnt is that I should never go for yoga practices unless I’m in a OK mood. Otherwise its so hard to concentrate on things properly., Any way this is my personal experience only..
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| I think I may be the opposite of most people here. When I'm in a bad mood I'm happy to let things got for a couple of hours or to to practice or take a class. But when I'm in a particularly good mood (I'm talking bouncing off the walls good) I often have a hard time focusing on the breath, and staying in the present. On days like that, Savasana can be particularly difficult. |
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| Does my mood affect my practice? I suppose it probably does.
But even more significantly - my practice affects my mood!! In other words I can use my practice to bring me into a better, more calm, centered, focused place.
AUdrey |
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| Fellow South Carolinians! Yea! I thought I was the only one - I'm in Chicago now, but after living in Cola for 6 years, I consider myself a Southerner. And my friend from the town that had just gotten its third stoplight considers me one as well now! I try to stay away from the Upstate, though - 2 exes from Greenville and 1 that went to Clemson - yikes! When I visit I do like heading up to the mountains, though, and hiknig around the waterfalls. Man, now I'm reminiscing about the good ol' days of heading to Rainbow Falls and stopping at Zaxby's on the way back...Thanks guys!
Back to yoga, though. I've found that on the days when I'm feeling particularly ornery and don't want to drag my sorry butt to class I usually have a breakthrough of some sort, even if it's just a slightly better state of mind. The days that I am just filled with sunshine and light are the days that I usually get distracted, and fall, and wuss out early, and find myself pretty humbled. Someone on the boards likened yoga to a relationship (was it Christine?), and I think that's a pretty accurate comparison. Even if you're in a bad mood and things aren't going so well, you still love your partner and work on it. |
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| (((LORA!))) Of course you can be a Southerner after 6 years (especially in Cola - you earned it - LOL!) I'm a native Yankee (Michigan & New Jersey) but have now been here half my life, so... it's funny - when I go north they tell me I have a Southern accent... at home they tell me I sound like a Yankee - go figure! I like the relationship analogy I hope with time I will be able to better control my focus regardless of mood, but... I'm not so sure of that! Namaste, Echo |
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| Ahh, another transplanted mid-westerner! Carolina just gets in your blood, doesn't it? Every once in a while my adopted Southern accent pops out in conversation - and lord help us all if a Southerner starts a conversation with me - it's like I never left! I still refer to ALL soda products as "coke" instead of the dreaded "pop" (or as we pronounce it up here "pap" and say "cut off the light" intead of "turn off the light".
The "relationship" does get better with focused work - just like a real one. The hardest thing is going into each and every practice as if it's the first time and just seeing what happens. It's really easy to get excited when there's a breakthrough and think that it will happen every time, and frustrating to have a great practice that's intensely focused and energetic and then fall apart the next time. After awhile though, and getting used to that process, it's become part of the fun of yoga (for me anyway) to just find out what surprises the practice has in store. Keep working on it! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| My kids say "pap" instead of "pop" when they mean beer. That's the west coast for ya!  |
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| Man, I miss so good Southern joints like Zaxby's or even Bojangles. Its probably best I can't get to them very easily, I have no willpower when it comes to the seasoned fries.
Lora...your analogy of yoga practice being like a relationship is dead on. There was a definite "honeymoon" period of yoga....the first couple months where everything was new, every new asana was wonderful. There's been a transition now that the poses themselves are becoming routine (i practice Ashtanga, which is the same every them), I can enjoy more the flow, the breath, etc. Since I will be doing the primary series for a long time coming, I'm sure the list of new things I learn will grow.
Back to the South...I actually wish I was down there now. Just found out they are calling for SNOW tonight. UGH! Spring seems to just ignore the Northeast! |
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| 72 degrees here today, but it's starting to rain pollen, so... I'd trade ya!
Hugs,
Echo ;) |
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| Empress, with all respect...
that is the creepiest looking avatar i have ever seen,
as a matter if fact i actually avert my eyes from it when i see your posts.
what is that? some scarey photoshop creation??
i think that shot of you and the fireplace was a much nicer association...
peace.
Dee
Edited by miss dee 2005-03-23 9:46 PM
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| ROFL! Yes, it is one of those freaky creations somebody sent me in an email. I liked the aspect of the tiger & the sparrow though... sorry if it's disturbing to you! I change these avatars all the time... variety being the spice of life & all Namaste, Echo |
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| Where is the "edit" button located so I can have an avatar, too??
I've looked and looked, but don't see it
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| Nievermind...i just found it. Figures when i finally get the nerve to ask I stumble upon it.
oh well.... |
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| You know, I just tried to put the fireplace pic back there, and it wouldn't let me - kept saying the file was too large - even though I had it there before! How odd is that?! So... I am now mighty mouse :) LOL
Happy day, Echo :) (PS - I put a new personal pic in my profile, after vastly reducing the size of the file...but I need to find one with my dog, Josh - he's much cuter than I am! :))
Edited by Empress Echo 2005-03-24 12:31 PM
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| YAY!!!
thank you Empress!
that little mouse is much better. i am so much more at peace.
better tell him to look out for that "monster" that was here earlier...
sure, he's strong- but he still looks like lunch to a flying whatever that was!
dee |
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Does mood affect your practise
