my daily yoga asana practice - video playlist

This is a sample of my daily yoga asana practice to share with those who want to know what I usually do for my personal asana practice.

Asana practice is an important practice in the path of Yoga to help us in purifying and controlling the mind, to render the mind calm and being at the present, as well as rendering the body strong and flexible preparing for meditation and to perform selfless service.

During the asana practice we learn to let go of judgment, comparison and expectation towards ourselves and other people. We learn to accept the present moment now as it is. We learn to accept ourselves as we are. We learn to accept the reality of the present moment now as it is, not necessary the way that we want it to be or the way that we think it should be.

It will not be the same in every session of asana practice (even if we perform the same asana routine). We learn about impermanence and allow impermanence to happen and accept the impermanence as it is. We learn to accept the ever-changing condition of the body as it is. We learn to let go of craving and aversion. We learn to let go of the ego.

When the body needs rest from the asana practice, I don’t do any asana practice for that time being. But yoga practice is always there continuously, in every moment, never ceased.

Here the asana poses were being held for a shorter period of time during the video recording and the resting time in between the asana poses was being edited for suitable viewing.

In my daily personal practice, it takes about 2 and a half hours to 3 hours to complete one session of asana practice. The asana poses are being held as long as my body feels like holding comfortably. The sun salutation is repeated minimum 10-20 rounds up to as many rounds as my body feels like doing. The resting time or relaxation in between the exercises or the asana poses is at least 15-30 seconds up to a few minutes depending on what type of exercises or poses and also depending on how my body feels after the exercise or the asana pose. The final relaxation is as long as my body wants to be completely at rest.

For the leg lift exercises usually I do as many times as my body can do. Sometimes I do more, sometimes I do less. There’s no need to count how many times. It is not important how many times we can lift the legs up, and it’s not that every one can keep the legs completely straight nor can open the legs as wide as some people do, it’s fine. Everyone has a different body type, different physical limitation, and different flexibility and strength. If the lower back is not strong enough or there’s some back problems, then put the palms down side by side under the buttocks to support the lower back. If there’s some injuries or physical limitations that you cannot perform certain exercises, then don’t do it or make some adjustments. Even if your body cannot perform any of the exercises or poses, you still can practice yoga.

Love and peace has nothing to do with whether our body is strong and flexible or not.

Yoga is not determined by how strong and flexible our body is. Yoga is not determined by how many times we can lift the legs up, nor how long we can stand on our head, nor how far our fingers can touch the toes. It’s about developing non-attachment and accepting the reality as it is at the present moment.

It doesn’t mean that we are “bad” or “weak” in practicing yoga if we can only do 5 leg lifts, and it doesn’t mean that we are very “good” or “strong” in practicing yoga if we can do 200 leg lifts. Just do whatever your body can do at the present moment when you are doing it. Every time or every practice it might be different. Sometimes the body is more energetic and sometimes it is less energetic. Sometimes it is more flexible and sometimes it is less flexible. That is the nature of impermanence.

Learn to be comfortable in all the exercises, not struggling and not forcing our body to go beyond its limitation. Relaxed into all the poses and hold as long as you can comfortably. Slowly the body will build up strength and flexibility.

Even if the body still not strong or flexible to perform certain poses after many years of practice, it’s fine. That doesn’t determine that we are good or bad in practicing yoga.

Learn to accept the condition of our body as it is, and be comfortable with our body as it is at the present moment now. Not comparing ourselves with our own past experience. Not projecting into the future what we want our body to become. Let the result or the benefits come naturally. Allow the strength and flexibility to come naturally. Even though we don’t know what are the benefits from doing the exercises or not having any expectation from doing the exercises, the benefits will still be there. It won’t increase when we know about it or have expectation. It won’t decrease nor disappear when we don’t know about it nor not having any expectation. Not comparing with other people nor try to become somebody else that we are not.

Be comfortable with ourselves for who we are, what we are, how we are, where we are, what we are doing and not doing, what we can do and cannot do. There’s no craving nor aversion. There’s no craving to become more strong, more flexible, more happy, more wise, or more peaceful… Because “we” are not determined by all these qualities… We are eternal peace itself. We don’t become peaceful or unpeaceful, that impermanent changing “peacefulness” and “unpeacefulness” is just the impermanent state of the mind… We are not the mind, but we are aware of all the states of the mind. There’s no aversion towards what we are now, how we are now, where we are now, what we are doing or not doing, what we can do or cannot do.

Peace is always there in us. It never increase nor decrease. This peace is not determined nor conditioned by the impermanent condition of our body or the ability of our body to do this or that…

Just practice. Keep practice. No judgment. No comparison, No expectation. No craving. No aversion.

I didn’t edit the part 10 – Headstand. The first few minutes is just basic headstand without any variations. Usually in a video that demonstrates headstand, it only shows about the variations of headstand moving in motion. I didn’t edit it to show that it is important to stay in the headstand without any variations for as long as possible and comfortably without checking on the time. It is not the time that matters, but being able to stay in the pose comfortably for a long period of time without the idea of time, without changing the pose or posture. This can train the body and mind to be patient and to develop strong determination and will-power.

It is essential to stay in the headstand for a minimum of 5-15 minutes for getting the effects or benefits of performing headstand. At the beginning, one may stay in the headstand just for a few seconds, and then keep practice until one can stay up to 5 – 10 minutes. It doesn’t matter if someone still cannot perform headstand after many times of practice, or someone who has some health complications or physical injuries that don’t allow him or her to perform headstand, know that this doesn’t determine whether we can practice yoga or not, or whether we are practicing yoga or not.

Peace, compassion and selflessness is nothing to do with the ability of our physical body to perform the asana poses/exercises. Anyone whether can perform headstand or not, can stay in headstand for a few seconds or for a few minutes, is still practicing yoga when they have unconditional love and peace, when they are selfless and compassionate, when they know non-attachment, when they have self-control over their own thoughts, actions and speech.

After coming down from headstand, it is important to stay in child pose for a few moments and then rest in savasan for a few minutes and then followed with some post-headstand counter poses like shoulderstand, plough and fish. This can help to release any muscles tightness that arise during headstand, and to balance up the energy fields and to ensure maximum benefits.

Om shanti.

It is not necessary that a spiritual giant should have a muscular body. The greatest Jnani may also be tubercular patient. There is no contradiction between the two.

一个灵性修行圣者未必会有强壮健全的身体。最伟大的智者也可能是结核病患者。两者之间并没有出现任何的矛盾。

Swami Sivananda

Anyway, a real yogi doesn’t need to labeling or naming or calling himself or herself a “yogi”…

There’s no “good” or “bad” yogi if he or she is a real yogi…