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Yoga Is Not Meant To Be Beautiful, It’s Meant To Be Real!

March 3, 2014 By Monica Stone 4 Comments

Did that title throw you off a little?

I guess it depends how you define beautiful. In the big picture, everything is beautiful. Every emotion we feel, every mistake we make, every time we cry, everything we eat, from poverty to wealth, from birth and death – Everything is beautiful. The whole process is beautiful because it makes us who we are. What’s REAL IS beautiful. 

It’s scary to reveal the imperfect side of yourself to others. I’m not sure why we live in a society where we feel like we always have to be perfect and be better and more successful than the next person, but somehow those qualities become instilled in us as we grow up. 

As part of my new years resolutions, I committed to making sure I always did my full practice so that I do not avoid any underlying issues, and work on the postures that have been challenging me. I’ve been mostly consistent. progress in pasasana.jpg Pasasana (noose posture) has been an ongoing struggle, and as a yoga teacher, I’m also always a student. As part of my teachings, I think it’s important to show my students and readers how I work with these challenges. It’s rare to go through a picture feed on Facebook and Instagram and see pictures of yogis struggling with postures. Most people (me included) post pictures and video of all of the postures they can do perfectly, and then get these comments like: “wow, amazing, so graceful, stunning.‘ 

Yoga is not about being pretty or perfect – it’s about being real. A practitioner should embrace the struggles and challenges. Besides, it’s the challenges where yoga really does the work. We can do postures that are easy to us and look graceful all day, but all that would do is feed my ego, which I’m trying to detach from in yoga. That’s a lot of work to undo! 

Pasasana is the first posture in the intermediate series of the Ashtanga Yoga Practice. It’s keeping me on my toes for sure! Read below and watch the video to see what I mean…

What’s happening in Pasasana: 

A. Deep Twisting & Squat (Your twisting your shoulder towards the opposite hip)

B. Deep internal rotation of shoulder that’s reaching around the knees. 

C. Deep external rotation of the opposite shoulder reaching back and down. You have to keep the other shoulder in the deep internal rotation as you deeply externally rotate this one.

D. Balance as you twist and lengthen the back of your heels as you flatten them to the ground

E. Lifting and opening of the chest to help rotate the arm and shoulder. This also works in conjunction with twisting at the hips and the spine.

F. I have found that I have to squeeze my knees together very tight and even use the arm that’s reaching around my knees to squeeze my legs together. If I don’t grasp tight with the arm, I fall off. 

I have two big challenges in Pasasana:

1.  Balancing: I can’t drop my heels to the ground, and because of this, I tend to start to fall forward. You’ll see this in the video. My first side of trying to bind hands, I couldn’t even hold for five breaths because I couldn’t balance. My balance is better on the right side. 

2. Externally Rotating the shoulder of the arm that reaches back and down: The hands are supposed to cling together around my back, but when I twist, I can’t bind the hands together. This is because I have to really let go and externally rotate the shoulder of the arm that comes out of the twist.

In order to bind, you have to twist really deep all while keeping balance. Sometimes when I get to the point of deep twisting, I start to fall forward. So, my focus is on grounding and control. Sometimes I roll up the front of my mat to set my heels for a deeper focus on twisting. I make sure to always practice both ways so I don’t lose focus of the other elements of the posture. 

UPDATE: Progress in Pasasana Part 2 here!

Notes: I have bound in the past, but it was only on the right side. It’s never been often or consistent. I also am now able to internally rotate my shoulder as I cling it onto my knees when before that was a challenge. 

I am going to update my YouTube Channel every week, and also post quick videos on Facebook to show how progress fluctuates in postures and the changes that I become aware of in my body and mind! 

Please keep checking my youtube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/monicadstone

I’ll also post short videos to Instagram at: http://instagram.com/theyogimovement    

Click the links above and hop on over and follow, like, or subscribe for all of the up to date info!

What’s your current problem posture? How do you work through the difficult times?

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Filed Under: Instruction Tagged With: asana, ashtanga, pasasana

Monica Stone

About Monica Stone

Monica is a lover of all things yoga, a vegetarian, an avid tea drinker, and never gets sick of soup and noodle dishes. She teaches yoga, practices daily, and runs a Spiritual Book Club in Orlando, FL. She likes to challenge the strict rules of yoga, and makes it accessible for everyone - especially people who suffer from daily life and work stress.

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Hi! I’m Monica

Monica StoneWell hello there! I'm Monica. I'm a yoga & meditation teacher (and junkie). I teach yoga practices that are quick and effective for the busy person who just needs a few minutes of quiet time in their day. Click around and you'll find quick meditation tips for calming the mind to simple stretches to relieve stress and tension. If you are sick of being intimidated by yoga or just confused by all of the different styles out there - then this page is for you. Yoga helps me daily & I know it will help you too! I'll show you how! Welcome to The Yogi Movement :)

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Testimonials

  • Jaime ShearerJaime ShearerYoga Student Since 2012

    Monica is dedicated to her own practice and the true path of yoga - the one of personal experience - which makes her an outstanding teacher. She is warm and easy to talk with, and she allows the student to have their own experience on the mat. She explains postures and breath in ways that are understandable so that the student "gets it." She makes yoga real and tangible in ways that truly serve the student. Work with Monica. You'll be glad you did.

  • Jacob AbercrombieJacob AbercrombieYoga Student Since 2011

    have always wanted to try yoga, but was always nervous. Monica took that fear away and made me feel like i was the only one in class with a room full of strangers. She is able to work with multiple students during the same move and still make it a personalized class for one.

  • Serena JonesSerena JonesYoga Student Since 2010

    Monica has been a highly influential teacher to me. She creates a safe environment for learning and practice. I have always felt grounded in her classes, and she pushes me beyond my own expectations. She inspires and motivates! I can't imagine my life without sharing a path with her!

  • Angela OrofinoAngela OrofinoYoga Student Since 2011

    Monica is a caring, wise, thoughtful, and talented yoga instructor. She has an in-depth knowledge of the philosophy and spirituality of Ashtanga yoga. My previous yoga experience had mostly just been at my local gym. Luckily, last year I found Monica. She has been guiding my practice at least once a week since then. As a newcomer to Ashtanga yoga, Monica made me feel comfortable and had the patience to teach me the basics. She also encouraged me to start an at home practice so that I was able to obtain a deeper understanding of Ashtanga. Monica is always encouraging and lets me know in subtle ways when she feels that I am ready to move deeper into my practice. I feel that the growth in my practice over the last year has been tremendous. Not only do I notice the change in me but others around me do as well. I am so grateful to have found Monica!

  • Sasha TamarSasha TamarYoga Student Since 2012

    I’ve come across many a yoga instructor over the years, but Monica stands out as genuinely amiable, as she glows with an infectious inner light, and highly devoted to and passionate about her practice. Her dedication to Ashtanga as a lifestyle is very clear, and creates for a contagious motivating force. Every time I’ve practiced with her, she eagerly transmits her devotion and passion of Ashtanga and meditation to everyone in class; she makes the most fledgling beginner feel at home, and simultaneously challenges the more advanced students. While I only practice Ashtanga with her, I know she provides therapeutic yoga sessions as well as meditation. And, if her methods of guiding students out of the Ashtanga vigor into the more meditative savasana are indicative of her meditational techniques, I’d recommend her to anyone

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