Harder poses are not "better" poses.

It took me a long time to figure this out.  I still have the problem of seeing some new asana either in class or online and thinking "I wanna DO THAT!"  Arm balances and backbends and every flavor of inversion are all on my yoga-to-do list.

Then recently, during a Saturday class, Stephanie put us into a long, complex adjusting hold in Warrior I, and I realized how little I knew about the most basic of the asanas.  At its heart, I see most of the warrior poses as lunges: my legs are strong, my spine is straight, as long as my hips aren't too fussy I'm usually pretty good.  Sure, let's just hang out here forever.  Yet there I was, standing in Warrior I, whimpering for mercy. 

There was so much WORK!  My inner thighs were on fire, everything from the tops of my shoulders to my lower back was straining for length, even my feet felt like they were flexed.  Each breath moved in and out, and I could feel my knees start to shake like my elbows usually did in a long hold in plank.  

This experience reinforces in me the difference between "doing yoga" and "practicing".  Every time I feel like I'm advanced enough in my own practice something comes along to remind me that I am always a beginner when I come to my mat, and that that is a truly positive thing. 

In a previous class, Stephanie spoke about the abundance of lessons a yoga practice can teach us by saying that one of the best things about yoga is that it's never finished: once you master enough of the physical practice, you find your way into a mental or spiritual practice; once you've reached that point, your body changes, and your practice is different yet again.  Yoga is never finished, but always growing. 

So for now I'll be coming to my mat looking for a "better" rather than a "harder" yoga practice, and trying to remember that those two things are rarely, if ever, the same. 

Namaste.