Exercise, Fitness, Health

GOOD FORM ON THE EXORCISM THIS WEEK

 
There are things I expect to happen to me, and then there is yoga. 

Calm, serene, peaceful – I am absolutely none of these. Why else do you think I train muay thai? But sidelined with an injury, it is time to get creative. Lest my brain rots.

Every day this past week, I attended Gentle and Vinsaya Flow yoga classes. What an incredibly odd practice! Well, not really odd, just that it is completely far removed from my fight training. 

In yoga, I am encouraged to surrender, accept, and let go – insults if I am fighting muay thai!  
First time coming into my mat, I am alienated by the mindset. I am so used to hitting the gym fueled by the sheer force of aggression alone, to focus on taking the other person’s head off or it will be mine falling down. But there is no one to fight in yoga. What do I do?

But with every pose and breath, I discover a new side of myself. Sometimes, I struggle and get gloriously distracted or bored, but the hours in yoga class are some of the quietest, stillest, and most focused of my life. 

 
It feels good to finish every session with a sensation of hard work, minus exhaustion. There is a clarity and lightness – almost like a trance – that comes after each practice, so different from how I leave a muay thai training session! 

Yoga does not make me feel homicidal, or at least it minimizes my urges to commit mass murder.

I have not worked out how to facilitate both yoga and muay thai training once my wrist fully heals, but I plan to keep going. Strangely, this seems good for me. As if the magma of the Earth is setting.

This should be interesting.

40 thoughts on “GOOD FORM ON THE EXORCISM THIS WEEK”

  1. The duality of being human is a challenging matter to face up to. I’ve struggled myself to deal with my own being: in the end, I dealt with it through painful avoidance. Not the best way. Yours? *Much* better …

    🙂

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    1. hello, i love how you put it: as a concept of duality. painful avoidance of what exactly? guess you can say this is a happy accident. i would not have tried yoga hadn’t i injured my wrist.

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      1. Avoidance of my own hubris; aggressive ambition; what I might do if suddenly given the keys to the kingdom. And my fear of all that happening has meant I’ve spent my life walking away from opportunity. In fact, I’ve avoided testing myself, no? Maybe I’m changing that now, even so.

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        1. am sure you have reasons for doing so, but i also wish you find reasons to go in the other direction. who knows things may get more interesting. i always tell myself, if things can go wrong, they can also go right! my best wishes!

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          1. Thank you for your kind and observant words. And good luck with squaring the circles of two ways of being. Can I look forward to reading more about your experiences? 🙂

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            1. i try. it is really all we can do right? it helps that i am always prepared to fail too, so what is there to lose? of course, and thanks! not sure how i go with yoga or muay thai in the next weeks though because i am traveling and hitting the islands again. it is the summer here, you see.

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    1. fantastic. yes, it is an incredible experience. i enjoy doing it, plus i believe this will be good for my muay thai. there is a lot to learn and am looking forward to it. how did canada go?

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  3. I have just received a subscription to an online yoga course.
    After Easter, I will try.
    You probably do not know, but I am Budhist.
    So I think this will be the further step back home (myself).

    xx

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    1. good luck! is this your first time to try yoga too? a buddhist, how interesting. we have one in the family as well. i have a read a few buddhist teachings and found them wonderful. since when have you been buddhist?

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  4. congratulations on your brave attempt on Yoga! and am glad you are considering sicking with it. (or it with you)

    I had the same thoughts as you when I walked down the stairs towards my first yoga class. This is going to be boring – do i really need this – why am i even bothered with yoga!

    But as I did one lesson after another I realised its benefits – CALMNESS. and that is what I guess we all need. It is the only time, 1 hr twice a week when I am able to still my mind and be 100% present in the moment.

    I enjoy incorporating it into my workouts. Maybe you can do the same. Or look for a studio teaching BUDOKON Yoga !!

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    1. budokon yoga? i will try. what is it? i plan to do yoga everyday, then maybe 3 days muay thai on top. thank you so much for your encouragement. i am in love with yoga now.

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      1. Lol….love to say “i told you so!!!”

        Budokon is a fusion of Yoga, martial arts and life coaching… what i think is the ultimate experience. Id go for it with my eyes closed, but i dont think its that widely practiced this part of the world.

        That sounds good… i think they recommend a rest inbetween but ask your yoga instructor. I belwive you can to the breathing daily as it helps balance the body and clear the mind.

        Once you get into it download satvva … gives you guided meditations which you can do at your convinience…

        Am happy you discovered a new passion…

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        1. many thanks! don’t think there is budokon yoga where i go. what other classes do you recommend for beginners apart from gentle and vinsaya flow? is yin and hatha yoga doable? also what is the difference between vinsaya flow and vinsaya series? sorry if i am asking a lot. truthfully, i have to practice on my own in the next weeks as i am traveling again.

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          1. Honestly…im not that old into yoga… maybe a couple of weeks ahead but attended 3 different workshops with 3 different “schools of thought” (i think that is what they are). Yin and hatha is slightly more advanced. I suggest stick with the basics until you become familiar with the poses and breathing techniques then move along to the others. Shoot me a mail. I can send you a chart of basic poses you can take with you when you travel… alia.datoo@gmail.com

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  5. Hi there! You provide a fascinating insight into such different inner experiences. Many of the folks I know practice some form of yoga. Due to a car accident, I have injuries that keep me to low impact exercise. Reading this post may have convinced me to give yoga a try. Thank you for visiting my blog!

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    1. hello, thanks for visiting! there are gentler forms of yoga suited to people with injuries. you can always talk to the teacher and discuss what alternatives are there to cater to your situation. i hope you can give it a try!

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  6. Yoga is fantastic for martial arts and everyday life. I don’t subscribe to the other mobojumbo people attach to it but practicing it has helped a great deal with my flexibility and breathing.

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    1. you also practice it, that is great! i don’t know much about it either but i enjoy its physicality and breathing. i have been doing it for over a week and i can tell i will do it for a long time.

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                1. i am really not sure what the yoga life is! i am just happy that i am able to do something. originally i planned to return to boracay to train in legacy next month but my wrist is not up to it.

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