The Necessity of Variety

“Variety's the very spice of life,

That gives it all its flavor.”

~William Cowper

Several weeks ago as I made my early Sunday morning visit to Trader Joes’s, I was struck by this stack of purple artichokes. At first they appeared to be so much of the same is their perfectly stacked pyramid of globes, but as you look at them, I mean really LOOK at them, each is as individual as you and I.

This William Cowper quote is the quintessential quote about variety. Cowper first wrote these words as part of a poem published in 1875. It stands the test of time!

Our yoga practice, the Kaiut Method, values variety to develop a well-rounded physical experience. Variety keeps us from neglecting certain physical needs in our bodies. It helps us to shift imbalances in the body, to rescue lost mobility and to develop our ability to adapt to any situation.

Our practice introduces many ways of approaching each shape from different angles, using different levels of support, varying time held in each shape, how frequently or infrequently we do a particular shape or movement, varying how we interact with gravity and more.

If we always do things the same way, we develop a “groove” for that activity or shape and it becomes challenging to do it any other way.

Think of simple things that you do every day... do you always do them exactly the same? When realized that I always put my pants on with my left leg going in first, I decided to see what would happen if I did the right leg first. Well, I practically fell on my face! I now alternate which leg goes in first and am easily able to adapt and balance on either foot!

The SAID Principle is a fundamental concept in physical training and rehab. SAID stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. It recognizes that the body will adapt to the specific demands that are placed on it. Adaptability is driven by variety and pushing the body so that it will develop the necessary adaptations to cope with those demands. If we are not making demands on the body, if we never meet our edge, this seriously affects the body’s ability to adapt. Stress your body and it will adapt!

Variety is our best tool to maintain and rescue our adaptability and mobility. Variety allows us to adapt to many demands. While maximizing the benefits, it minimizes the obstacles to our practice like monotony, boredom, injury and plateaus.

As you join us for practice, notice the variety that is included in our sequences and know that this variety is the key to the magic.

“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability.

The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.”

~Bruce Lee