Inner World of Yoga – Day 5
The downside of Pranayama for instance, is that improper forcing of breath practices may provoke pain in ears, eyes, or heart, “harden” our breathing apparatus provoking instead of healing breathing conditions, or exacerbate hyper-tension, while proper practice is said in yogic texts to actually provide a cure for these conditions, as evidence has supported in various studies and anecdotal evidence.
While everything from sleeping to sky diving has a risk factor in life, and we can never bring risk to zero, the benefits of Yoga Practices for the vast majority far outweigh any risk. In ALL Yoga Practices we reduce risk and receive the most benefit when:
- We focus, and are aware of our breath and body alignment to the best of our ability
- We make ease and steadiness a priority and NEVER push for sake of appearance, to “look” like we think we “should” (yoga swear word), or to force to the next level
- Have awareness of and respect for “where we are at this moment’ i.e. we can only begin every practice from where we are at that moment, not where we wish we could be
- In Asana and Pranayama, if you cannot find ease of breath, STOP what you are doing immediately and back off the practice
- Realize and hold uppermost in your mind that your practice is YOUR PERSONAL PRACTICE, and your awareness and your communication is within yourself during your practice
I always remind my students in asana and pranayama practice that if you are not building focus, awareness, ease and internal alignment, you may be building injury.
