Adventures in Yoga

Photo by Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash

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Adventure is not outside man; it is within.
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- George Elliot

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Yoga is a serious business, there is no doubt about that.  It requires discipline, self-inquiry, and detachment to results, among many other virtues.  However, that doesn’t mean that yoga isn’t fun.

If you aren’t having fun in your yoga practice, I recommend revisiting the reasons you are practicing.  If you are practicing only to make your body look better or because you like the way it looks when you walk around with a yoga mat slung over your shoulder, it will probably be hard to maintain the spirit of fun innate in experienced yoga practitioners.

The discipline required to practice yoga allows us to find freedom and a sense of adventure.  And what is more fun than freedom and adventure?

Our inspiration at the studio, Sonia Sumar still loves to climb trees in her 70s.  That is exactly the kind of thing yoga is preparing the body for - climbing trees in your 70s.

In fact, the most adventurous, fun-loving, and free people I know are the ones who have been consistently practicing yoga and meditation for many years.  They are unencumbered by worries, emotional burdens, nagging physical ailments, and attachments.

Are they human?  Of course.  But they take challenges and pleasures that arise in equal stride.

After practicing for years (or even months), sometimes my passion for practice dulls.  At this time, I like to reinvigorate my yoga practice with one of these tools, finding fun and adventure in my practice again.

• Master a New Pose - Like when you attempt to get to the next level of a video game, mastering a new, challenging yoga pose can be very motivating.  I don’t mean to suggest that yoga is all about asana.  But when I am struggling to find the inspiration to get on my mat, I will pick a pose that I can’t do well yet.  Then, I will study it.  Which parts of my body need to be open to accomplish this?  Which parts need to be stable?  What other poses can I practice to taste what this new pose has to offer?  Are there ways I can adapt this pose to explore my limitations?
• Deepen My Meditation - There is nothing like the feeling of sinking deep into meditation.  You might know that the meditative practice is subdivided into three components in the Yoga Sutras - dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (enlightenment or absorption).  This is actually a bit of a simplification but for our purposes here, it will suffice.  Getting beyond the stage of dharana or concentration, which is the effort to keep the mind one-pointed, and traveling into dhyana or true meditation is like sinking into a warm bath.  Truly, I have never felt better than the pleasure of my mind going really quiet.  We now know that our brain waves are going into a more relaxed state when we reach meditation.  This is not mere placebo!  So when I slack in my meditation practice, all it takes is a profound experience in meditation (i.e. training with a master or learning to meditate for longer) to inspire my inward adventurer again.
• Practice Yoga Outdoors - In Chicago, we are very good at appreciating when nice weather is here.  When it’s a beautiful day, I could spend all day outside.  So practicing yoga outdoors is a no brainer.  Pick a park, go to the beach, or get out on your own deck.  All you have to do is find a shady place with a flat surface and put down your mat or towel.  Listen to the sounds around you.  Feel the sun and wind on your skin.  Smell the fresh air.  Enjoy the present moment while you are immersed in the healing elements of nature.  Luckily, we’ve got you covered here, with a multitude of yoga classes outdoors this summer.  We’re still providing free classes every Tuesday and Thursday morning at Gallagher Way and we also have a special outdoor yoga class for athletes coming up this month with The FIT Institute.  Take your pick!
• Create a Standing Yoga Date - Sometimes all you need is a buddy.  When I was first studying to become a yoga teacher, I found it easy to practice regularly by committing to taking a class with an exceptional teacher (shout out to Thomas Zwergel!) with my mom.  Most weeks, I trekked up to her neighborhood to take a class with her and then spend some time together.  Having experienced a transformative practice with a great teacher, I was more inspired to practice on my own and refine what we’d learned that week at home.  Later, I found a way to make a class with Thomas on Monday mornings before I taught my own classes.  I would head up to his studio in Evanston and then go to the Baha'i Temple to meditate before making my way to the clinic I worked at in Glenview.  I truly looked forward to these dates, both with my mom and with myself.
• Go on a Yoga Retreat - When all else fails and I can’t seem to find the fun and adventure in my own practice anymore, I know it’s time to get away.  I find a workshop or training that interests me and I attend it (psst...we have a training next month!)  Not only does the act of travel reset my perspective in general, attending a retreat inevitably gives me many tools and resources I use to keep that reset going when I return home.  These days it’s not always so simple to pack up and travel but luckily, there are now many ways to go on a yoga retreat at home.

My greatest hopes for myself, for my students, and for you is that we never lose our sense of adventure and that we always have fun on our yoga mat.