Fear of getting hurt can make you reluctant to try something new.
“I am afraid that I will hurt myself during class.” Alice says to Carol.
“I know what you mean” said Carol “ I felt the same way when I first started yoga. My yoga teacher showed me two very powerful poses that I could use at any time to protect myself during class.”
“Can you show me these poses?” asks Alice.
Carol showed Alice how to do:
— “I don’t think So” pose
— “I need a break” pose
Both of these poses will help Alice to have a positive experience with yoga. The first pose, “I don’t think so” will protect Alice from injuring herself and the second pose will help her to manage her energy levels.
Carol showed Alice the “I don’t think so” pose first.
“I don’t think so” pose
Always pass on the poses that you think might hurt you.
There will come a time during a yoga class when Alice is going to look at the pose the teacher is doing and she is going to realize that she can not do that pose. It could be because of a recent injury or some other limitation with her body.
“You should never put yourself at risk in a yoga pose.” Carol tells Alice. “If you feel that you are going to hurt yourself you should do the ‘I don’t think so’ pose instead.”
You enter “I don’t think so” from Dandasana, sitting on the floor with your legs out in front of you. From there, you cross your arms in front of your chest and look towards the teacher with a concerned look on your face.
Your yoga teacher can offer you an alternate pose or a modification that will work better with the injury or limitation that you are experiencing.
A yoga practice is non competitive
You are not competing with your neighbour nor with your yoga teacher. You may be better at one pose than the person next to you or worse than them. It does not matter. What does matter is that you work within the limitations of your body.
Protect yourself from injury with “I don’t think so” and keep your energy levels up with “I need a break” pose.
Recognizing that you can not do a particular pose and doing the “I don’t think so” rather than pushing forward and ignoring the feedback from your body is an important lesson from your yoga practice.
Protecting yourself from injury is only one of the poses that you need to know to increase your enjoyment of yoga. The next pose “I need a break” helps you to manage your energy levels during your yoga practice.
“I need a break” pose
Take a break when you get tired.
The actual name of this pose is Child’s pose which in Sanskrit is Balasana. Some styles of yoga are very vigorous and require a lot of energy and stamina. In these particular styles of yoga “I need a break” is very helpful, but it also shows up in other styles of yoga.
When during a yoga practice, you start to run out of energy and you start to think negative thoughts about the teacher, the style of yoga or yoga in general then you need to take a break and get your energy and positive attitude back. That is when you do this pose.
You come to your knees on your mat and lower your hips towards your heels. Next you bring your torso forward and down towards the floor. Bring your arms forward, rest your palms on the floor and finally bring your head to the floor.
Stay here in “I need a break” until you have recovered your energy and are ready to join back into the practice. Your teacher will come by to make sure that you are okay. Let her know that you have run out of energy and that you will join the practice in a few minutes.
Alice really enjoyed practicing this pose and she is relieved to learn that it is okay to take a break during yoga class when you are running out of energy.
A yoga practice is not a sprint
One of the common problems for a person new to yoga is to go all out and try and do everything with maximum effort and enthusiasm. This will quickly lead to you running out of energy and then your ego kicks in and you continue to struggle. You refuse to let yourself take a break. But that is the best thing that you can do.
Allowing yourself to take a break and recover your energy is one of the important learnings of a yoga practice.
Treating your yoga practice like a marathon rather than a sprint will get you to the end of your yoga practice with energy to spare and a positive attitude. Like a marathon you manage your energy level throughout your practice. When your energy level is getting low it is time to “take a break” and restore some of that energy before you continue on with your practice.
Summary
These two poses: “I don’t think so” and “I need a break” put you in control of your yoga practice.
Use “I don’t think so” to protect yourself from getting injured and “I need a break” when you need to recover your energy and positive attitude.
Your teacher will never give you a hard time when they see that you are practising intelligently.
Next Step
The next time you are in yoga class use “I don’t think so” when you feel like a pose is going to hurt you. Use “I need a break” pose to keep your energy levels up.
Additional Reading
Using “I don’t think so” shows that you are aware of your limitations. The article Goldilocks and the three bears find the edge talks about how to work with yoga poses that are challenging safely.
