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| picture from here http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml |
but that's not the question I wanted to ask.
Here's Manju and a question put to him on the recent TT in Crete I attended, this from my transcription
"Q: What about women having their period, what is it they can do and cannot do?
MJ: We don't advise them to practice yoga then, take the period off. Because this menstrual cycle you go through, if you mess with that then in the future they will have problems. So that's why you have to take it easy. Be like an Indian women, they don't do anything for three days. They don't cook for three days, they don't clean for three days, just watching soap opera...the husband comes home and has to do all the things when he comes home, "Nothing is made what happened"? "It's My period". " Oh my god..". Then he has to get in the Kitchen and start cooking. So that's why we all know how to cook".
And Manju loves to cook
The question was put to Manju by a Male teacher on the course actually, but again, that's not my question.
My question is...
What is the effect of taking three (?) days in a row off practice?
And what happens if it arrives around Saturday making it four days off...
how does that affect your practice?
Do you feel revitalised, refreshed beginning your practice anew...like you've actually had a holiday...
or is it tough getting back on the mat every month, getting back into the routine?
One, I'm curious and two, it's kind of come up now I'm doing a little teaching/sharing of the practice.
*
UPDATE: Going to add this in from, if I'm not mistaken, the conference notes to Sharath's first conference of the season in Mysore yesterday.
"... And in terms of the physical practice? Sharath said we should practice until the body no longer allows it. Your practice may be only a few postures due to age or injury, but you should continue to do what you can. It is necessary, he said, in order to keep stability in the body and mind. Linking back to where he began at the beginning of conference he said we could conduct our own research experiment. If we do not practice for a week, even three or four days, we should notice what happens to the mind, understand the difference in how we feel. Compare that to the state of mind when you are doing your daily asana practice. He seemed to know the conclusions we would reach".
15 comments:
Nuno from Portugal. I just came back from the workshop with Manju in Lisbon and it was nice to meet people from all over the world. Actually I met a person from Australia who was in Crete this summer with Anthony and who also read this blog, so it is really nice this sense of global community. On the other hand, I find practicing in workshops too distracting: the chatting, too many people, the teachers and assistants movements around the room, the constant opening of doors and windows, and even the adjustments. I got used to my home practice without such distractions and I really feel its benefits. Anyway, I think going to the occasional workshop from time to time is nice to connect with the ashtanga community but the real practice comes from inside.
Speaking only for myself here....it has happened that LH has coincided with both a moon day and a Saturday, making five (!) days off. That's NOT a holiday - it is downright stressful! And coming back - ouch. My solution, if it can be called that, is to simply listen to my body. Nearly 100% of the time, I am grateful to take the first two days off - the very idea of doing the practice is unappealing and feels just wrong. But I often come back after two days because it feels right again. Not always, but often. This is what my body says is ok - others may have other experiences. I figure that one goal of yoga isn't to have a perfect calendar of checked off days of practice but to gain greater awareness of my body and mind, so I try not to sweat it too much if the days of the week and LH seem to conspire to make an extra long vacation. Also, I sometimes cheat and practice on a Saturday or Moon Day (gasp!) if I have just had LH. Rules made to be broken, no?
Now if I could just find someone to cook for me....
Personally, I think we need to follow our bodies.
The first day of the period is the most critical for me, in terms of feeling depleted of energy, the rest are pretty much normal days.
So I do not really take 'ladies' holidays' but then again... I do not practice Patthabi Jois' system assiduously, I practice in a krama mode and that allows me to adjust the practice according to my state.
I definitely have become much more respectful for my energetic cycles as I have grown older, perhaps because energy levels are slightly lower already, perhaps because I now understand yoga better, perhaps because the push to behave like a man is a part of my life have luckily grown out of.
In terms of energy and mood cycling, if we really wanted to follow our bodies properly, then we should probably take a holiday the week before menstruation, that's really when all the business is happening. Sorry to sound gross, but menstruation really is the end result of a process which is generally about 28 days long.
So we should really have different practices every week or so. This is in my opinion a weak spot in Patthabi Jois's system if one follows the series to the letter.
As someone who keeps starting and dropping out of practice and depends on the practice as a cudgel to maintain some personal discipline/ order to an otherwise chaotic day, getting off it completely makes it that much harder to get back to the mat and find my way around again (despite that progress from day 0 to date being infinitesimally small)... Some tadasana and few standing asana-s (nothing too taxing), padmasana, konasana, paschi, shavasana, pranayama (not bhastrika or kapalabhati but more like nadi shodhana) and meditation---to the extent possible---is my ideal LH routine. I avoid chanting anything aloud and resort to mental chanting/ reading (not aloud). Also, I believe inverted asana-s are definitely better avoided. I don't push myself to do anything that does not feel right or comfortable with. After the LH, it does feel like a fresh start and that there's renewed energy in getting back to the routine, including chanting, etc. Maybe this is just a psychological thing...!? It is there all the same!
greetings
here is a post that will make you laugh lots from Stan, authorized teacher of the Ashtanga Yoga Center of Toronto: http://www.missstan.com/?p=1523
and here is advice from Kiki http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LekKUSGOSw
Because none of the rest of our life makes accomodations for our period...we still have to work, do housework, etc. it is hard to let go of practice, and we might even feel we need it MORE. I would say just experiment. Try one day off, two days off, no days off, three days off. Practice on the Saturday, or (carefully) on a moon day if it coincides with LH, if it helps. Try treating yourself to things you wouldn't normally do: a glass of wine, a good movie, self massage, some yin practice. Don't stress about it, just explore to see what feels right..and that might change month to month.
I agree with Chiara that it is often the few days before LH that are the most difficult for me, and when I feel I need a holiday the most.
I typically take 2-3 days off for LH and ease back into practice with a somewhat modified primary on the first day (usually primary to baddha konasana and finishing without inversions). When my "holiday" arrives on Sunday morning, I might take two days of total rest and then do a bit of vinyasa practice on the third day.
After LH, I feel strong, light, and rejuvenated. Tweaks tend to disappear. Often, I am more flexible as well. It is not difficult for me to get back into it after holiday because the rest days are a reminder of how much I need the practice, perhaps not physically but psychologically.
But here is the real question: is it Ladies Holiday, or Lady's Holiday?
I always seem to crabbily, rebelliously, skip a day...only to LH the next day (I made it a verb!). Smack hand to forehead, oh, that's why I felt like crap. Then I take a few days off until I feel right again. I'm usually tired and weak feeling for the duration and have no interest in yoga. There's no help for it.
On the other hand, yes, I find it hard to get back to the practice after a break. Why give up those leisurely mornings I have only just rediscovered (says that voice in my head)? It's just so pleasant to sit and sip my coffee and not trudge over to the practice room....
And why is it that I always seem to be just really getting into a good groove when LH shows up and puts an end to my streak? So annoying.
P.S. This thread reminded me of a post I did a while back that I offer here only because in it I cut and pasted in the most hilarious essay on menstruation I've ever read, plus Shark Tampons. http://mayalassiter.com/2011/11/badass-folks-who-menstruate/
Because if anyone is badass, it's ashtangi's who menstruate.
So many great comments both here and direct by email on this thank you, had to look at them at work but will read them more closely later. Wanted to add this for those who saw and commented on the post already, seemed relevant to the question i was focussing on
UPDATE: Going to add this in from, if I'm not mistaken, the conference notes to Sharath's first conference of the season in Mysore yesterday.
"... And in terms of the physical practice? Sharath said we should practice until the body no longer allows it. Your practice may be only a few postures due to age or injury, but you should continue to do what you can. It is necessary, he said, in order to keep stability in the body and mind. Linking back to where he began at the beginning of conference he said we could conduct our own research experiment. If we do not practice for a week, even three or four days, we should notice what happens to the mind, understand the difference in how we feel. Compare that to the state of mind when you are doing your daily asana practice. He seemed to know the conclusions we would reach".
By Anna Muzzin
I also have to comment on Manju's answer to your question. I think it is exceedingly rare that an Indian woman would take 3 days off from household duties during her period, unless her family was very rich with many servants (in India), she has a very enlightened husband (very rare in India) or she has an enlightened husband and has lived in the western world for many years. Manju's answer is quite far-fetched.
http://youtu.be/zpxcM12Cbjs
For me I take a full week off since my LH can be quite an attack. At first I was reluctant to take even a day off but I find that taking that one week rest was so good for myself emotionally and physically. I always come back full of energy and strength.
It does "affect" my practice in the sense that the first few practices feel a little rusty, stiff, but energetically, taking the holiday off makes a significant difference. I am better off taking a break from the Ashtanga practice than I am pushing my way through it. On the holiday break, I do some restorative/supportive poses from Bobby Clenell's book, "The Woman's Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle" which is enough of a 'practice' for me.
I guess I feel the same Nuno, I enjoyed the workshop but still prefer my home practice. That said i went to the shala in Crete the morning after the workshop and the first hour was quiet, could have been practicing alone at home, in a hotel room, anywhere, second hour it started to get busy and was a bit distracting but that first hour was really nice. The Australian, wonder if that was Tasha she was due to teach a Ashtanga and tango workshop in Portugal around that time.
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