Mindful Yoga

I have read so much about mindfulness in yoga. Mostly I've read it in Yoga Journal--my favorite magazine of all time. My understanding of this changes depending where I'm at in my yoga practice.

When I first started learning about mindfulness, to me it meant thinking about the asanas as I did them: correct posture, staying committed even when the asana became uncomfortable. Now what it means to me (I know this will change with time--but this is where I'm at presently) is to feel how I feel when I am in each pose. Sometimes I feel anxious and want to move onto the next asana or I might feel the endorphins kicking in (like with Warrior I pose); whatever feeling arise, I try to recognize it, acknowledge it, observe it, then move on. Honestly, I remember to do this about a third of the time. My goal at the moment is to get to about half of the time.

I know that if I set the bar too high for myself and fail, then I'm less apt to continue pursuing my goal. I am working on acceptance of myself (I'm a hopeless perfectionist) and being gentle with myself...easier said than done. But I'm working on it.