Practice is not a new concept for me. My parents enrolled me in piano lessons when I was four years old. For the next ten years, I was constantly asked: Did you do your practice? When are you going to do your practice? How long did you practice? What did you practice? Practice, practice, practice.
It was always about my practice. My whole day was planned around my piano practice. Will I do it before I go outside to play or after; before dinner or after lunch; half an hour now and half an hour later; or just get the whole hour over with so I can forget about it for the rest of the day. As a child, it seemed like such a burden. Especially in the spring when I would have to do it either after school or after dinner when all my friends were outside playing.
It goes without saying, that the discipline of that piano practice has had a huge effect on how I have done and continue to do other things in my life. One area that it has shown up quite noticeably is in the many different athletic activities I have engaged in. Growing up I was a majorette, a dancer, a cheerleader; then into adulthood I did aerobics, down-hill skiing, competitive swimming, long-distance running . They were all good, all fun, all challenging, all requiring lots of practice. But after two injuries that I did not want to deteriorate (my knee and my shoulder), I turned to yoga. Never did practice have so much meaning as it does in my yoga ‘practice’.
I started with Sivananda yoga, going to classes and practicing at home. I continued with the home practice, showing up at the odd yoga class here and there. I loved my yoga practice; my body loved my yoga practice, my life was benefitting so much from my yoga practice that I wanted to help and show others how to use this time tested system to make their lives better too. Five years after my first class, I took my Yoga Alliance Teacher Training and after 7 months and 200 hours of theory and practice, I received my teaching certificate.
Life threw another challenge at me in that same year. I was diagnosed with severe metal poisoning (5 times normal levels) and had to go on an intensive detox program. Even though I was unable to pursue my desire to be a yoga teacher, the lessons and the practice were key in helping me focus on the crisis at hand.
It has taken me five years to get my health back. I am very grateful for my yogic perspective in handling the slow and sometimes erratic journey. I am certain I would not have been as committed, successful or patient without my teacher training.
This year, I knew I was ready to continue on with my yoga teacher dream. I also knew that I needed to take a refresher course. As always, once my intension was set, the solution appeared. Two weeks after researching different options, a notice went up at my favourite yoga studio. I signed up for an Ashtanga Immersion course beginning in April. I have already started though, with my practice.
To teach, you must do. So I am now getting up an hour earlier every morning and doing my practice – no excuses (and I have lots of them…I’m still tired, I have to wash my hair, I’ll do it tonight). In Ashtanga, you practice six days a week, never on Saturday, and not on full or new moons (more details on that another day). I am now in pre-immersion countdown. During my training, I will be writing about what shows up for me on the mat and how everything in life can be more effortless – it’s just a matter of practice.
So how about you – is it time to do your practice?
Yours in Practice,
Denise.
