Summer Inspirations Part 3

Yoga Practice Elevation

In the spirit of my Summer Inspiration “series,” I am reflecting on my yoga journey and how it inspires and supports me as an artist (particularly a voice-centric artist), an academic and just a regular ol’ human.

Above is a photo of me practicing yoga on the beach… Just kidding, it’s freakin’ Eartha Kitt!!

I have practiced yoga regularly for quite some time now (10, 15 years? I am not quite sure). I have, at times been somewhat serious about it- attending classes regularly and then at other times, like this past year I have resorted to doing just a sliver of practice – 5-10 minutes a day—although I will give myself props for being consistent as I have been pretty faithful to attending to this itty-bitty practice every single day. One of my goals going into this summer was to reignite my practice- to really dig in and go somewhere with it, to grow instead of just stringing my practice along—to feel stronger, more flexible and more focused overall.

My local yoga studio (Bodhi Tree Yoga) runs a promotion called the Summer Sizzler where for approximately $130 you can attend unlimited classes throughout July and August– a heck of a deal… and given that the studio is two blocks from my home (greatly diminishing any roadblocks in me getting there)—I bought the pass and made a goal to get to minimum 3 classes a week. So far, I have hit that mark.

Integrating yoga into one’s practice as an actor and particularly one who centres voice in their practice is not a new concept. Leading voice practitioners and acting teachers have been doing it for years. I am a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, a method of voice training for performance developed by Catherine Fitzmaurice that uses modified yoga postures in its exercises. It is a methodology aimed at revealing each person’s unique voice and centres on exercises that may reveal a free and flexible voice capable of communicating with full expression and without excess effort. So as a teacher and practitioner, I come in contact with yoga regularly, coupled with my daily itty-bitty home practice and I guess you can say that yoga is fairly entrenched into my life. But, somehow I always feel like a bit of a sham, like I am not “good enough at it” and that I don’t really know enough about it. To confront these self-imposed notions I have made an intention to elevate my practice over the summer. To move beyond my itty-bitty practice, to learn more and to embody my practice more fully. One month in and I can safely say that “practice elevation” has occurred! I am indeed feeling not only more confident, but more curious, and generally really jazzed about yoga, my practice and the possibilities that arise every time I step on the mat.

Here are three of the lessons I have learned on the mat so far;

Consistency is everything. In order to grow in anything we may choose to do, you must be dedicated to showing up over and over and over again, regularly, and consistently. I recently saw a quote by the inimitable Bruce Lee saying “Long-term consistency beats short-term intensity” and while I want to say nowhere is that more evident than in the yoga studio, the truth is it holds up for many facets of life as an artist, a writer and an academic. Show up, do the work, “results” or growth will follow. Of course, I know this and I preach this to my students on the regular—but, there is something about knowing it on a bodily level—actually experiencing it that makes it a massively valuable reminder.

No One Cares. No one is watching you in class and judging you for wobbling or falling out of Tree Pose or for not being able to get your head to your knees in Seated Forward Bend—And if someone IS watching/judging… I am immediately reminded of the adage “What other people think of me is none of my business”. Similarly, I have given up comparing myself to anyone else in class—I simply do not care what the person next to me can or cannot do. Kudos to Bhodi Tree Yoga for creating such a safe, accepting space (I mean the whole vibe of the place is very 1970s granola which I LOVE).

I am capable of doing hard things. Many of the poses in class are hard for me, like I will hear, see and understand what the teacher is instructing me to do but my body won’t respond in the way I want it to. There was a time when I would have said “I’m just not good at this or “This is impossible.”, However, what I have discovered is that there are ALWAYS options; modify the pose, use a prop, move into an alternate pose… AND there is no shame in using any of these options, one way is not better than another so truly, nothing is impossible. I have been actively practicing this on the mat this month—tuning in when my body/mind needs a good nudge and a shot of courage and similarly asking myself “What are my options here? How can I get to where I want to go”- THIS (I am reminded!) is how I get hard things done.

I’m excited for the next four weeks—despite having a pile of work to attend to–research and writing projects piling up, syllabi to be written, I am so grateful to have the flexibility in my schedule to commit to my “summer of yoga” project. Ultimately, I aim to get so hooked on my new elevated yoga practice that I will just have to make getting out to 3 classes a week work in my schedule during the academic year—That means EVEN in the darkest and most frigid days of winter where leaving the house after dinner seems like the most monumental of tasks– I will long for it enough to trudge the 2 blocks in the wicked winter weather to class.