This past Saturday our daughter was married in our backyard. It turned out to be a lovely event and it went smoothly, but about a week before I let the stress of preparing get to me. We had taken care of our 3 1/2 year old grandson during the previous week and I was beginning to feel like I was making no progress at all with all the small things I wanted to have ready in the house. He had helped outside; we’d gotten a little red wheelbarrow so he could help mulch and move dirt around. It had kept him busy and happy, but inside the house it was different. There were toys, and clutter and dust and I felt unable to sit in peace for even long enough to make a decent ‘to-do’ list. My mind was reeling, and I felt pulled in several directions all at the same time. The weather was getting more oppressive each day and the prediction looked ominous. The result, a massive migraine.
There are some wonderful concepts underlying our practice of yoga and two of them have fascinated me for some time. On the face of it they seem contradictory: one is usually translated as “contentment” the other as “intensity” or “enthusiasm”. How can one work with complete involvement, with complete intensity, focus and burning desire but at the same time be content and tranquil? I practice this every day on my mat when I work to do my best to understand my body, to change my poses and myself when I do my yoga. Then when I am finished I can be content with what I have done, knowing that I will begin again tomorrow with a fresh start, a chance to do it more completely.
As a teacher I work and hope to convey this to my students. It also requires an honesty with oneself. We talk about it in class, sometimes laugh at our failures but also rejoice when we understand. The day I had the migraine, I lay down for a little and realized that I needed to put this into practice with the wedding. I was doing what I needed to do at the time; spending time with our grandson, enjoying that, doing what I could to get ready for the wedding and I should relax, be content that this was all I could do. It worked, the migraine let up and the next day all was well. And three days before the wedding there were so many family members around helping that I had almost nothing to do. I could really relax and enjoy the event.