If we looked back through our lives, we could find times when we felt we reached a “peak”. Those times when we felt most accomplished in our career, a sport, our relationship, our health. But in my experience, when I look back at times, I believe I peaked, it wasn’t so much I had reached the absolute best I could, it was that I decided that I had gone far enough. Maybe it was an intentional decision, or maybe it was just that my interest to go further wasn’t quite there.
We’ve heard the stories about people taking on enormous adventurous events and often wonder how they can do it. It appears those people have no peak! Most often, they will speak to the power of the mind in the hardest of circumstances: “What the mind will believe, the body will achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
You can also think of this in the form of new parents. The tiredness of constantly tending to their new child, the lack of sleep, nutrition, and the task of learning so much so quickly. But just when they think they can’t keep going, they do.
This always leaves me wondering when we believe our peak is reached what pushes us to keep going? Is it the desire for a result, the knowing that others are counting on us, or is it the stubbornness not to quit?
Journaling Ideas: This write about a time when you felt you peaked and then take a little time to really dig in to see if that is accurate. Could you have gone beyond? If so, why didn’t you?
Breathwork: This week let’s try a breathwork exercise that goes against the natural flow to practice going beyond our peak. There is a traditional pranayama called Viloma I in which it is intended to help us expand the length of our breath and go beyond our current lung capacity. In this exercise you breath in for a count, pause at the top of the breath for the same count, and breath out for the same count. You may want to start with a count of 3 or 4 just to get the rhythm and then try moving to 5 counts, even 6. Keep your breath smooth, avoid gasping, and if possible, you are breathing in and out through your nose.
Yoga Poses to Add to Your Practice This Week:
- Mountain Pose (Tadasana): close your eyes, visualize the crown of your head as your physical peak.
- Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): In this pose your hips are the peak. Once in the pose, tuck your tailbone and lift the hips a little higher.
- Halfmoon (Ardha Chandrasana): is a challenging balancing pose. Can you practice all aspects of the pose and truly work on your peak within it.
- Revolved Halfmoon (Parivrttaa Ardha Chandrasana): this is where perhaps you find your “beyond”. If you have success in a variation of Halfmoon, perhaps you look beyond and try the revolved version.
Remember to always practice within your own limits and take care of physical and emotional well-being.
Wishing to learn more about the practice of yoga? Join our upcoming 200HR Yoga Teacher Training in Calgary, AB!
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With gratitude,
-Stephanie