In our busy lives these days we always seem to need to be doing something. Keeping busy. Getting stuff done. Ticking things off our list.
In a similar way, if we like yoga – and we like the way it makes us feel in our bodies and minds – we often like to do it a lot. And that can a good thing. Having a practice and “doing” the poses is perceived as us doing good things for our bodies.
And yet
If we spend all our lives busy doing, then surely a little undoing sometimes might be a better thing?
I know if I sit hunched over my computer for most of the day (which these days is sadly the case), then I’ve created tension in my entire neck and shoulder region. Not to mention my lower back and legs.
I don’t think it’s necessarily best practice for me to then launch into rounds of sun salutations, or focus on alignment that inevitably puts more stress on areas of my body that are already a little tight.
But if I’ve had a morning away from the desk and my body feels freer that day, a stronger practice might suit me better.
There are many schools of yoga, but they can often be separated out into two different types: yoga as a dynamic, physical practice or yoga for release and relaxation.
I think there’s room for both, and in fact see them as the perfect counterbalance to one another.
Doing
- Promotes necessary muscular strength;
- Stretches muscles and increases flexibility;
- More intense styles of yoga can offer a cardio workout.
Doing comes naturally to some of us. We like to feel we are progressing and tangible results motivate us to practise more.
Undoing
- Releases tension and increases flexibility;
- Relaxes the body and mind;
- Take us out of our habit of doing, which can become automatic, or mechanical (and no-one wants a mechanical practice or mechanical anything in life, for that matter).
Undoing is not doing nothing. It is not merely resting in Savansana. It may seem simple, but it is harder for us to achieve than we might at first imagine. “Doing” is so ingrained in us that it feels very alien to practice something where results are not tangible but more intuited. There’s no progress in Undoing that can be measured, sometimes it simply means that you are able to deal better with the usual stressors of everyday life. Perhaps worry a little less.
Your Body; Your Yoga
As you become better versed in your own practice you become more attuned to your needs of your physical and emotional body. A flexible (no pun intended!) practice is best – strong when you need it, or a gentle one that provides and undoing when your body or mind is full of tension, or when the weather or season suggests you do less. High summer and the depths of winter are great times to succumb to our natural instincts and work on undoing.
Yoga in Henleaze
I’ve started new classes in a lovely studio tucked away in Henleaze. These Gentle Yoga for Midlife classes provide a weekly opportunity for both doing (building strength, mobility and resilience) and undoing (releasing mental stress). I’d love it if you could join me.
Doing but then also undoing – a yoga balancing act. Which do you usually opt for? A little of both is the perfect combination!