By Sissi Liu
Sissi Liu is the Yoga instructor and a Level 5 (Blue) student at Wu Dao
For my practice in asana-oriented yoga, primarily Ashtanga Yoga, I have taken classes at different studios and with various teachers. While I find inspiration in regular practice, through reading, and learning from my teachers, sometimes other students of a variety of types (see my categorization of the Western, modern "yogis" at the end of the blog) have served as my inspiration as well. When I hit a plateau in my practice, watching others with fascinated admiration helps me to believe that one day, with practice, I could do “that,” too.
One such moment came recently during a Mysore style Ashtanga Yoga class (practitioners do their own practice with the teacher coming around to make individual adjustments). While focused in the performance of a Sun Salutation, I heard the footsteps of someone passing in front of me—soft steps interrupted by low thump
s. I wondered if the person had a bad hip issue. Noticing my thoughts wandering, I tried to concentrate. The woman laid down her mat next to mine, near the corner of the studio room and proceeded to begin her practice.
It did not take me long to realize with unfeigned shock that a prosthetic foot peaked out of one of her pant legs, the foot flexing with her movements into upward dog and downward dog. Again, I tried to concentrate, but I could not help peering over from time to time. During some portions of the practice, she unbound the entire leg just so she could perform the postures. Each vinyasa (the flows that connect each posture) was performed by jumping back from a posture and then jumping through from downward dog into the next posture, without shortcuts. Towards the end of the series, she practiced her backbends just as the series prescribed. With the aid of the instructor who treated her no differently than any other student, she reached back to the floor from standing and came back up to standing again. She was by no means young or a natural. She did not have the typical yogi physique. And she did not use practice straps, blocks, or training implements.
Witnessing this and reflecting afterwards, I felt ashamed of my lack of consistency over the years. For a couple of years at a time since I began exploring yoga, I allowed myself to skip practice with excuses such as I’ve got too much to do, I’m tired, or my back’s sore, etc. My progress therefore suffered. If someone with only one leg could achieve what she has with the potential of achieving much more in the future, what better excuse could I come up with for not practicing?
We all tend to find rationale to let go of our training—in yoga, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, or fill in the blank—and blame the pressures of life, family, or work. We watch with awe at someone else's advancement and lament that given our lack of natural ability or hours in the day that we could never get there. Ultimately, for whatever reason we choose a practice, there is only one thing that will stop our progress—lack of consistency. We make a choice when we start something new and we have to commit to making the choice to stay with it. So, the formula is simple: to be good at anything, you just need to have faith in yourself and not let the next great excuse, even if you only have one leg, stop you!
