Trying to increase our flexibility is one of the reasons why people come along to my yoga classes and want to join with the many people who take up the practice  of yoga. There are many ways to do this and one of those ways is by learning these five principles employed through yoga practice. These are: S.E.N.C.R.

1. Stillness
2. Endurance
3. None-Strain
4. Consistency
5. Relaxation

Well this all sounds well and good but how does this work and how can we put these principles into practice for ourselves? To  explain more fully I would like to take each of these principles in turn.

Stillness

When we take a posture and hold it without moving we allow the muscles of the body to relax and release their tension. This is important as in itself this gives a greater feeling of freedom and prevents the overworking of these muscles as we try to move more deeply into postures. As we maintain this stillness a feeling of well-being  is experienced which is pleasurable and encourages us to want to experience more of this.

Endurance

This is the ability to maintain a certain intensity of effort during out practice. But we must understand that this effort develops increasingly with repetition. As we develop and continue to practice regularly out ability to do so increases over time. We do not really need to force this as it comes along with doing something on a frequent basis.

None-Strain

Wee really need to understand this. If we push too strongly then of course we can make great headway quickly but in the course of practicing in this manner we can incur injury which will not only slow down out progress but also may be troublesome during the course of our life.

Consistency

Is the key to overall success in all thing we undertake in life. We may not make fast progress but if our effort is steady and continuous then progress is certain. Even in the face of difficulties we need to show consistency and a steady application to our task. Of course it is good if we can practice on a daily basis but even if we can only manage with a regularity of say three or four times a week, this will surely bear fruit providing we continue and apply ourselves.

Relaxation

And remember behind all of this is our ability to relax and exhibit a softness in our approach. This is very important because even if we practice like we are just fitting it in between other activities out energy will be curtailed and will not flow properly. Anxiety causes constriction of out energy channels and strangles our experience of freedom.

Happy practice and keep on keeping on…….