Guest guest Posted May 21, 2000 Report Share Posted May 21, 2000 Does anyone else find themselves absolutely exhausted after doing a full practice six days in a row? I've recently upped my mat time from three days a week to six (minus moon days) and I feel like I'm being visited by a vampire every night. No energy at all by the end of the week but my stretches are also so much deeper by the end, due to the steady practice. Do I need more vitamins? More protein? Find a job that lets me nap in the afternoons? Or is this just what 36 feels like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2000 Report Share Posted May 21, 2000 you might try expanding your practice gradually-<br>3 days til 4 days etc. Also I might suggest looking at your diet. I am a vegetarian & have been for many years. When I started this practice I found that I needed more protein in my diet than before. Bear in mind that each person is an idividual & it pays to observe what foods give you energy & detract from it. I found in the first couple of years of practicing that my energy level wasn't as high as it is now - but I was also undoing alot of damage caused by other factors. Have heart it does get better & better & better.<br>p.s. I'm 47 & it feels pretty good!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 21, 2000 Report Share Posted May 21, 2000 Hi edenlotus<br><br>Even when I was working out like crazy, I never did it six days a week.....<br><br>But this is yoga right? I think that with yoga there are things that you consciously have to do to make it different.<br><br>I'm 38 and there are many times when I have felt like how you've described. Certainly building physical stamina will eventually help, but I'm finding that really focusing on the breathing and aiming for lightness, versus always working so damn hard, has helped me balance six days a week of practice and it's really something that has just come to me recently. <br><br>On particulary low energy days I've been just saying to myself- Today, just focus on breath and bandhas, there is nothing else to do. And its amazing how much work there is to do just there! I think about finding softness, and how can I make the poses flow with ease. I think about drishti. I think about how good this feels, how I'm creating space and becoming calm and learning focus. I find that if I take away the pressure to be physical, mentally, when I start that first suryanamaskara, its a lot easier to swallow. I've been trying to apply this to days when I feel full of energy as well - instead of - "ya baby I'm gonna NAIL this or that pose today!" its more like bringing myself back down a notch, keeping my ego, my ambition in check.It has taken me a lot of time to get to this stage, but I feel a real shift has occurred in my thinking and I'm so curious to see where it's all gonna go next.<br><br>Changing the time you practice, if work permits might be a thought. Not sure if you're practicing at home or in a class but mixing that up a bit might help if possible. Classes- although I love them and miss them so much - seem to take it out of me more then self practice. Re food, being moderate in this department has never let me down. I'm also a one cup of coffee a day girl - maybe one day I'll evolve- but I have to say, it helps! If java's not your thing, perhaps a great juice or smoothie can be a pick me up during a low point in the day. Taking a hot bath or putting a few drops of some kind of pleasant oil (garlic for the vampires? just kidding...) on your pillow before you sleep might make nighttime more pleasant.<br><br><br>And you know, sometimes, I just take a day off and do 5 days a week- I don't beat myself up over it - i actually feel better that I honoured what my body was feeling and use the day to practice yoga OFF THE MAT - Because if yoga is only about working out six days a week- forget it- I'm not interested.<br><br>A lady I met the other day told me about some woman from Maui in her 50's who is on 2nd or 3rd series and is like a butterfly - as light as air in her practice. This inspires me, much like fellow poster nadi ca saying that 47 feels good and many of the members of this club - devoted experienced yogis who have made this a practice through their lifetime. <br><br>Correct me if I'm wrong here but I feel that the secret to being there 10,20,30 years from now must be a combination of many years of practice AND learning how to manage the body, not through sweat, toil and drudgery, but through breath, bandhas and learning how to be light.<br><br>yours in yoga<br><br>sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2000 Report Share Posted May 22, 2000 My name is reinaldo I have been aware of the practise for about five-six years. And I have been doing with diferent frequencies. I will confes that if I would have been doing a six day in a row during my first two years I would probably be exausted but I did practise for several days in a row and it no longer take energy away from me. It is certain that the prectise my be good one daing and not so good on the next but I no longer exhausted. I believe that once you get the full flow and connect each breath and movement it will just flow thru.<br><br>Reinaldo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 22, 2000 Report Share Posted May 22, 2000 napping, really does help. Even 5-10 minutes squeezed in somewhere at work. I don't think 36 has that much to do with it. I'm 42 (well almost). I think your body eventually gets used to it. Mine did. At first I was sick and tired a lot. Now I'm good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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