This November, we’ve got the enjoyment of studying from Annie Carpenter at our Impartial Bay and Bondi studios. Discover out about Annie’s upcoming packages right here.
Annie created her college, SmartFlow Yoga, over 15 years in the past and is lovingly referred to as ‘The Instructor’s Instructor’. Having spent lengthy durations of time practising and learning Integral, Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga, Annie believes that there are numerous fantastic approaches to the follow and that we’ll all discover precisely what we’d like as our lives and our bodies evolve.
The dedication to follow is the essence. What we follow will develop and mature.
One lesson from Annie’s coaching notably drove this dwelling for me when she had us think about the probabilities that come up once we keep nonetheless for slightly longer.
We’ve all been there. Holding Warrior 2, quad trembling, breath heavy, sweat dripping. “Yet one more spherical of breath…!” the instructor directs, and the tip of that final exhale can’t come quickly sufficient. As a lot as we love a flowing, dynamic Vinyasa class, there are presents in these moments once we keep in longer holds. After we stay within the pose for longer than we could wish to, giving the form the possibility to disclose its classes to us.
Typically the lesson could possibly be so simple as realising you might be stronger than you suppose. On different days, the lesson could possibly be to take heed to your physique and relaxation. When you can’t preserve a easy, regular cadence of breath, are you able to enable your self to take a step again so you’ll be able to return to a spot of equanimity and calm? Or are you all the time pushing for extra?
Remaining in poses for longer holds helps us really feel that dance of steadiness and ease, or what yogis confer with as sthira sukha. The place is that fringe of discovering our power, whereas not over-efforting in methods we don’t have to?
Discovering sthira sukha, discovering steadiness, adjustments from daily, class to class, pose to pose.
In practising staying slightly longer, you would possibly think about a number of the following:
- Can I keep when issues get laborious?
- Can I take heed to myself in deeper and extra delicate methods? What do I want right this moment?
- Can I discover the quiet even in intense poses?
- Can I stay regular and calm by way of the poses I really like and the poses I discover troublesome?
In our trendy world, we’re so typically regularly on the go, overworking ourselves and transferring from one factor to the subsequent with out pause. Yoga affords us a welcome distinction to the remainder of our lives. Repeatedly transferring on too shortly to the subsequent factor can preserve us from experiencing true pleasure, true peace, and true presence. After we enable ourselves to remain in stillness, keep within the pose maybe slightly longer than we’re habitually snug with, that’s when the magic of yoga can unfold. If we keep nonetheless lengthy sufficient, we would additionally uncover extra about ourselves. That is one other deeper follow of yoga – self-study, or svadhyaya.
Earlier than speeding into the brand new 12 months with all the brand new stuff you wish to begin doing immediately, think about slowing down, pausing, and asking your self:
- What’s right here proper now?
- What am I grateful for proper now?
- What’s already unfolding in entrance of me?
Yoga affords us these practices that carry us again to the current second time and again. If we wish to discover the road of sthira sukha, all that’s required is that we preserve unrolling our yoga mats and discovering ease within the uneasy.
Annie’s SmartFlow coaching was a beautiful reminder that oftentimes advancing our follow doesn’t imply mastering handstands or pincha mayurasana (forearm stand)!
“Whereas we could also be practising extra ‘superior’ asana, the advancing of our follow is definitely revealed by sustained delicate focus and the inclusion of extra limbs of yoga,” says Annie.
Advancing our follow would possibly imply softening within the instances once we’d often preserve pushing. It might imply including pranayama to the tip of our yoga courses. It might imply utilizing the questions above as journaling prompts, working towards svadhyaya. Or, it would imply merely staying nonetheless for longer and making it to our mats extra constantly.
We hope you’ll be a part of us in 2024 (or proceed to hitch us!), deepening your understanding of this lovely follow along with us.
You may be a part of our Head of Training and Lead Instructor Coach, Gina Brescianini, for one more Annie Carpenter Motion Masterclass coaching utilising SmartFlow Rules in 2024! You can too discover her educating SmartFlow-themed courses in our Bondi & Manly studios.
Written by Katie Tetz
Studio Enterprise Supervisor | Ever Inspiring Author & Yoga Instructor for Energy Residing Australia
