Intentionality in Movement
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In yoga asana (aka poses/physical practice), we of course focus quite a bit on movement. Not simply what a pose looks like, but how it feels in the body, the different variations of the pose, ways to adjust or modify the pose using your body or props. But more than just the physical aspects of the pose, we often focus on the why. Why do we do this particular pose (in general, and today in this class)? Why do I choose to do a particular variation? Why do I use props for this same pose some days, and not on others? Why do we choose to transition from one pose to another in a particular way? This why, to me, is where intentionality comes in. The why gives us our reason, our intention, behind each movement.
And if this sounds a little tricky, I understand. Often, we do yoga to get out of our heads. We spend all day focusing, thinking, making decisions, etc, and we just want to go to class, have someone tell us how to move and remind us to breathe, and to stop all the brain chatter. I completely get that. And there are certain forms of yoga that lend themselves to this particularly - styles in which you’re doing repetitive motions or sequences, in which you do the same postures in the same order each time, and it becomes almost like a moving meditation (albeit, possibly a moving meditation that greatly works your muscles and makes you sweat). But especially for styles of yoga that aren’t so set, such as vinyasa, in which the instructor and the students have the opportunity to adjust their class from day to day, I think this idea of why we chose to move as we do, becomes especially important. So I thought I’d share a few simple questions that might help you move more intentionally, without requiring in depth analysis while you’re trying to relax.
Do I need something more energizing, or something more grounding/restorative? Certain poses, such as backbends and inversions, can be energizing. If you need this in that moment, great! But if you need something more grounding or restorative, you may choose a backbend like supported bridge, or an inversion like legs up the wall, when the option is offered.
Does this feel good in my body? Now I’ll be honest, there are some poses that are never going to feel great in the body, and that’s different for each of us, because we all have different bodies. But what I mean is, “Does it feel like this is the right version for me right now?” And if you care to dig further, “Why does this feel like the right version to me right now?”
What do I want from practice today? This is something you can simply ask yourself as you’re heading into class. It may be the same answer as question number one - energizing or grounding. But maybe you also want to feel stable or balanced. Maybe you want to feel powerful (as in your personal power). Maybe you want to feel peaceful. Maybe you want to feel strong (physically or emotionally or both). Or maybe it’s something physical - you feel stiff and want to loosen up, or you want to focus on a certain body part. But knowing what you want from practice today helps you to move intentionally throughout. It helps you in choosing variations of poses and movements, and in truly feeling the poses in your body. For instance, what do you feel as your hand presses into the mat or a block in that pose - do you feel grounded, strong, energized, balanced, powerful? What do you notice happening in the body in each pose, beyond simply the physical sensation. This will help guide your movements, to help you move toward whatever it is that you wanted from practice that day.
In life, it’s much the same. We often go through movements without realizing why we’re even doing them, other than the obvious (I’m walking my dog because I don’t want her to have an accident in the house). But often, we miss so much. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve taken my dog for her morning walk and been so caught up in my head/thoughts/etc that I barely notice anything around me. Then, later in the day, I’ll complain about how I’ve been stuck inside sitting in a chair all day. But the truth is, I haven’t - I take my dog on almost a mile walk each morning. I’m outside in the fresh air. Often, I can hear the birds or crickets. We go out early, so I get to enjoy the peacefulness of a quiet city before it wakes up. And yet I’m not taking any of it in, and then later complaining about not having the opportunity for exactly what I experienced on the walk. We do the same with eating, with driving, with so many other actions in everyday life. We move through so much of our day by rote, not really focusing on the movement, but simply just getting through. (Note: you can ask yourself the questions above as you move through life as well - you might find that with some tweaks in working to make it appropriate to the situation, they can apply just as well to our day to day movements as to our movements on the mat).
So throughout the month of November, I’m going to invite you to move more intentionally, both on the mat (if you practice) and off. Notice why you’re moving as you do. Notice what it feels like, both in the body, but also beyond that - how does it make you feel as you move this way? Why are you choosing these movements, these actions? And as with all of yoga, there’s no judgement of the answer - it simply helps to keep us present, and to experience life more fully as we move through it.