About three years ago, a Bikram teacher got on my case...
"Missus! You always practice in the same area of the studio for each class. You need to be moving around. Don't practice in the same spot every day. Mix it up. It will add to your practice."
She was correct. I was getting used to the nice breeze I would feel as I practiced a few spaces down from a pregnant woman in class, who had access to a door and would occasionally open it a crack to prevent over-heating. I was being strategic with my positioning. And my practice had plateaued a little because of it.
As soon as I began moving around the room, I saw my practice become more challenging. There were some hot spots in the room I had never realized before... And practicing in them definitely knocked me flat on my ass. I love that simply changing where I put my mat offered a new challenge in my practice.
Nowadays, I still mix it up... But I try to stick towards the front of the room. As a more seasoned practitioner, I think I can help newbies understand a little more about the execution of the poses by standing up front. I still move around though... Sometimes second row... Some times front row... Sometimes far left... Sometimes far right... Even when I pull back-to-back doubles! I never practice in the same spot two classes in a row.
What about you? Do you claim a spot in class?
10 comments:
I have a favorite spot, but I guess moving around is the way forward!
Like my post @ http://nessahead.terhaar.cc
I'm a big fan of moving around the room. Though I tend to get stuck up front and center cause no one else wants to go there and cause the newbies need someone to follow. I try to take the "last pick" spot and just go wherever there's a space!
Uhh, I could write a blog post on this topic. Wait. I already did... :)
Same thing happened to me---my teachers pointed out that I'd found a "comfort spot," and they pretty much forced me out of it. And I am forever grateful.
I have a goal in this challenge, to practice at all the different spots in the room. I am moving around even if I have my favorite spots.
i used to practice in the same spot all of the time. last year our studio presented with a challenge to let go of attachments. i felt that being in the same spot every day was an attachment so i changed it. it is the best thing i could ever have done and now i find myself gravitating to the front which has made my practice much better.
Roberta called me and Reggi out on the carpent last year for staying in the same spot. So we moved to the "other side" of the front row, but still front row! :) Lately I've been going to second or third row to mix it up. It throws my balance off, the diff distance from the mirror, which I think is a good thing. I should be able to practice in any spot!!
I'm guilty of staying in the same spot, especially while I was in Boston, but after moving, I haven't been AS glued to any particular area. In the last few months while training for the regional competition, i practiced in the back, behind people so I couldn't see myself in the mirror! It definitely changed my practice and helped me focus on my postures in a new way.
So anyway, I still find myself going back to that upper right corner of the room, but I'm MUCH better than I was before about switching.
LOL! I remember your exact spot at the BYBB studio Mary... Front row, all the way to the right corner!
I've never even thought about this but yes I do! And its always in the back so I get a breeze! Shame shame!
I'm guilty of having a favorite spot but I try to move around every once in a while to mix it up. My biggest problem is that I'm one of those people who HAS to see myself in the mirror, preferably close enough to look myself in the eyes. I wear glasses to drive so my eyesight's not the greatest so I'm happiest in the front row, happy in the second row and okay in the back row.
There was one class that was so full and I arrived only fifteen minutes before and no matter how much I moved my mat in the beginning of class I couldn't see most of my body most of the time. It wigged me out so badly that I actually left the class and I have NEVER done that. I was ashamed, but I just felt completely disconnected.
Now I make sure I get to class early enough so that I can at least see my body!
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