Yoga-A Lesson in life
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Every time I take a yoga class I am reminded of how much I love it. Having a teacher I love has been the key for me in my journey of loving yoga. (Or anything for that matter. )
When you find a teacher that you connect with, and who speaks to you, you will love the thing you are learning. That's what a great teacher does. (If you have yet to love yoga, keep going until you find the teacher that changes everything.)
This woman, Annie’s teachings stay with me long after class is over.
One of the biggest things of late that I have brought out of the classroom is this:
We will be in a pose that is not my favorite, and sweat will be dripping down my face. We are holding the pose for 5 long breaths (it feels longer than it sounds). My body might be shaking, my eyes are closed, I am concentrating on those 5 breaths.
And then I hear her words “Now, give the pose 30% less."
And immediately, a sense of ease.
Oh, how hard I was fighting to be in that pose! Clenching, tightening, pushing, pulling to stay there.
And oh, how trying 30% less, I can be in the exact same pose and it can feel so different.
Less effort. Less pulling, less pushing.
I realized it’s not about fighting to stay in the pose, it’s about BEING in the pose. Surrendering to the pose.
And so the concept goes with me when I exit the classroom.
What would my life, interactions, efforts feel like if I gave it 30% less? Not that I don’t bring or show up 100% to my life, or to the task, or to the event, or to my relationships but that it’s not a struggle. I grasp less. I relax into the pose instead of against it.
We often try so hard that it ends up being a fight, a tension, a struggle. We clench, tighten, and pull on the inside. For this relationship to work, to do well at that job, to get through our daily to-dos. Even when we're in a state of joy, we fight to stay there. To keep that feeling.
It’s not about fighting to get there or stay there: it’s about BEING there. Wherever you are with whatever discomfort, or dis-ease you might be feeling- eyes closed, heart clenched, with sweat dripping down your face.
Well, what if we were to give 30% less?
What would it feel like? Would you feel a bigger sense of ease?
Where in your life are you in the same proverbial pose- grasping, clawing, tensing and can you approach it with 30% less effort, less struggle and more ease? Can we all remind ourselves not to push so hard? I’m game if you are.
All my love,
Dana