You have probably heard your YIDL (Yoga in Daily Life) teacher say “if it doesn’t feel right then don’t do it” or something to that effect.
Recently I was challenged with the question “why? What about no pain, no gain?”
Excellent question!
It is good to ask questions; to enquire and come to understand. Sometimes questions are for our teachers and sometimes for asking ourselves.
Firstly, we need to acknowledge that as part of this mortal life we will experience pain and pleasure; sadness and happiness; hot and cold etc. It cannot be avoided, it comes with our human existence. Part of our yoga practice is to develop ways to manage these dualities with the aim to understand that this is the nature of life. To meet it with wisdom and equanimity and letting these realisations flow into how we live in our daily life.
A vital part of our yoga practice is the development of awareness and imbibing the principle of ahimsa (non-violence). When we are on our yoga mat our teacher will offer asanas or a focus to extend and challenge us. This has the benefit of potentially improving our physical condition and moving us outside of our mental construct.
Physical
Let's start with answering this question in relation to our physical body.
The first thing to ascertain is whether a pain is a healthy one or not. Put simply, we need to tune in to what is going on, to fully inwardly feel and listen. If the pain is acute, sharp, pinching or the like, if you get the feeling that something is not right, then it is not healthy to continue. It is not safe to continue. If we get this response it is recommended to ease out a little or stop completely. There is no gain if we injure our self.
It is good to go to the challenge, though if we feel pain, but not so bad, and keep pushing into the asana, noticing that the body and mind are tensing up to stay in it like holding on tight or struggling, noticing the breath becoming short, shallow or jagged then this is also an indication that we have gone to far. Practicing like this brings tensions into the muscles, reduces blood supply, invokes the fight response of our nervous system, consumes our energy and limits our mind.
It is good to challenge our selves. By playfully, curiously, inquisitively finding that level of challenge that we can work with, and feeling how that changes with each moment, we are developing our awareness. Breathe smoothly in and out through the nose; consciously engaging the body to stretch or strengthen the muscles without building unsafe tensions; raise the heat in the body for increased vitality and detoxification; allow the mind, our inner vision expand into the experience. Challenge, expand, go deeper – safely!
Energy
Practicing yoga is like giving our selves a general acupuncture treatment. The yogis tell us there are 72 thousand energy channels (nadis) in our body and through these nadis flows the prana (energy, vitality, life force). Keeping this in mind when we move and challenge the body that we are aiming to clear any blockages in the nadis and encourage the prana to flow freely. In this way we increase our physical health and vitality.
Mind
The practice of yoga is not about force. Force creates resistance.
Svadhaya: (Sanskrit – self study) Here we ask our selves why are we forcing? What inner desire, belief, doubt, conditioning is creating this pattern? What are we looking to gain? What is our motivation for our practice and why? Is this inner pattern serving our highest good?
The flip-side is our avoidance of discomfort. The same enquiry is needed to find out why?
We will have difficulties, heart break, disappointments and pain in our life. We practice the enquiry on our mat and take these same skills into our daily life. These painful situations give us the chance to study and know ourselves truthfully. Inner questioning, reflecting and understanding will serve us positively in our whole life on and off the mat and is far more valuable than whether we can shape our body into a pretzel or not.
Ahimsa: (Sanskrit – non-violence) Here we practice to have discipline that is fully infused with non-violence. Practising being non-violent to our body creates non-violent and peaceful tendencies in our mind.
Tapas: (Sanskrit – heat. Understood as discipline or austerity) Here we learn to endure, the austerity of returning to the practice and not giving up. Whether we can or cannot make an asana look like they do in the magazines or the person next to us in class, we humble our ego and practice anyway. Practicing with an attitude of being gentle and at the same time persistent. Cultivating that kind of self-confidence that when we fall or fail we can pick ourselves up and try again. Through a regular yoga practice we foster positive self-esteem and inner strength. Frustration is a pain, but a safe pain that we can work to overcome in such as way that in the face of discomfort the consciousness remains undisturbed.
Summary
Change in yoga comes incrementally, step by step as a result of a regular dedicated practice. I hope these points show the benefits of practicing with awareness and ahimsa rather than pain for gain. In the end the decision of how you practice is completely up to you. Remember, should you need support your YIDL teacher is here to help so do not hesitate to talk with us.
