When we practice on the mat, sometimes the poses flow from one to the next, effortless, easy, breath synchronized with body. Sometimes the poses are clunky, awkward, as if we are baby giraffes trying to simply to stand on gangly legs that don't seem attached to the rest of us. There is a disconnect. Something has been severed.
Sometimes life is wonderful, picture perfect. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes things don't make sense. We get bad news, a friend who works hard loses their job.
Certainly the effortless yoga practices are fun, fulfilling, rewarding, even "zen-like". But what about those other practices that feel so robotic and awkward? How can you show up on the mat anyway? Can you find a little peace in the breath, just for a moment? Can you feel the earth below your feet, even in the struggle of a teetering balance pose? Next time you are in one of those "not" places, try just focusing on your breath, even if you have to return to mountain or child pose. There is nowhere to be but right here, right now. Yoga is not a race, it is not a competition, even against yourself. See what happens after a few intentional breaths, see if you find your own unique ground.
What do you do when you are in the "not"s of life? When life isn't pretty, when it doesn't fit neatly in a Facebook status with a picture of smiling faces on a sunny beach? Do you retreat, sulk, back away from contact with friends and family? Feel somehow "less than"? Or do you trudge along, resenting every step you take in the normal day to day experience? Or maybe a mix of both? Next time, apply the same principle of physical yoga practice (asana). Take your yoga off the mat. Take a pause, take a few breaths, focus on your connection with the earth below you. There is nowhere to be but right here, right now. Even if (especially if??) it isn't pretty. Life ultimately is not a race, not a competition. Pausing in stillness, whether in a formal meditation practice or just a few moments of calm amidst the swirling storm, might be just what you need to gain some valuable insight about the current situation.
See how it works for you! Let me know!
See you on the mat...
