I recently read Just Here. Just now.’s blog post on sitting out in yoga.
http://justherejustnow.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/an-ode-to-sitting-out/
I thought this blog was great for many reasons!
It was a great reminder of etiquette. I can think back to classes when I started yoga. Despite my teachers reminding me to breathe and be calm I would force myself though poses. Now when I see that person in my periphery cursing and fidgeting I want to tell them to relax. Their “extra” energy can destroy the energy of the room. While I know I should be able to focus on my own, I find myself distracted by their struggle. I will continue to try to block those distractions out, but out here on my blog where I am free to share my mind (you shouldn’t talk during yoga) I ask you PLEASE BE CALM! Stand still, or if you are dying; have a seat. Breathe through your nose. You will learn so much more about yourself.
I thought about the times when I have made myself keep going. If I had sat earlier I may have had a better second half of class, rather than suffering through the rest of class once I reached my end point.
Most importantly I connected to the line “Sitting out means you are humble: yoga is about honesty and killing the ego. When Bikram tells us to get in the hot room and “kill your self” this is what he is talking about. The true Self (with a capital S) would never worry about something so silly as this. So get over your self (with a small s) and sit your ass down.” It reminded me, my practice is for myself. Most times I don’t sit because I feel my fellow yogis energy suffers from my sitting. Or I worry about them judging me for the day If I was truly present with my self, these thoughts would not enter my head.
So today while practicing I let my fellow yogi’s opinion. I practiced for me and me alone. At the end of class I didn’t have to sit out. I did have one dizzy point when we flowed together separate leg stretching and triangle pose, but I focused on my breath and before I could think to sit I was ok. I will sit out the next time I really need to. The crazy phenomenon is, however, if you are present and truly focused on you, you usually don’t have to sit out 😉