Yoga is Hard…
Yoga is Hard…
And life is even harder… Yoga is hard is because when you get out of your own way, commit yourself to the practice and dig a little deeper to get down to the nitty-gritty aspects of self, yoga will reveal its untold secret of consistency ~ the elusive nature of discipline. Recently, that word has been wrapped with a negative connotation of obedience, punishment, or even control, but when we no longer willingly give our power away to someone else like a teacher, partner, friend, sibling, boss, or even better a guru, we can savor the small shreds of the word that might be immensely helpful to our own individual lives. Dissecting the word into its most delicate parts would help to diminish the longing to be told exactly what to do in life, to be given the answers from another person for what should be done next and the surrendering of autonomy to be securely told that everything will be okay because life is just so damn hard.
Softening the tone a bit can access its deeper meaning that transforms itself into personal responsibility and accountability for one’s choices, actions, freedoms, and consequences in the world. To remove the self-righteous pursuit of speciality from the conversation of yoga is the first important piece. Then, understanding that you are engaging in a powerful practice that calls upon your greatest virtues, skills, and passions to embrace something greater than yourself to appreciate the role YOU play in the grand scheme of existence, life, and the interconnectedness of the universe no matter how large or small the impact may feel.
The experience of this extended and drawn out global pandemic has also been extremely hard in the yoga and spirituality world because we have had to accept the fact that the empowerment of choice has many angles of self-expression and we must be willing to embrace decisions that are the polar opposite of our deepest convictions. There are many triggers in life that really push our buttons, but learning to respond rather than react to life could be one of the most precious gems and delightful boons of cultivating a consistent yoga practice.
On that note, it leads me to my next point of discussion, why has it been so hard to sustain our yoga practice during these challenging times? Although there may be many facets and answers to this question, one simple suggestion is that when we are faced with the depths of the unknown, forced to swim upstream with uncertainty and bathe in the vast mystery of the universe ~ it might not be the best time to try to figure it all out and embark on the quest for the existential meaning of life. On the other hand, this major revealing process opened the door to understanding what is most essential in life, what changes have we put on the back burner for the right time and the dead-end job, the constantly trying relationship, friends that only take from you and a grueling yoga practice my not be serving you anymore.
We have all heard every excuse in the book because we have all made them at some point when we do not want to do something, overbooked ourselves, and just flat out put way too much on our plate, but now more than ever, it is time to take the biggest inventory of your life for a brighter future that only you can create. Time to trim the unnecessary fat off the shank of life, remove the relationships that are a constant battle, tidy up the clutter of your home and release the baggage that has been bogging you down to lighten the load and stop messing around. Cultivating self-discipline during tumultuous times through personal responsibility and accountability will reflect back to you all that you ever wanted because there is truly no one else to blame in life when we grab the reins and begin to navigate our destiny into the clear light of the morning sunrise of each new day.
Yes, yoga is hard and life is harder, but when we unite the two by infusing the body, mind, and heart into the healthy habits we create, potent rituals we uphold and fully surrender to the flow of life, we are no longer chased by the grim reaper of karma, but rather pulled by the energies of grace. Yoga is a wonderful practice that compliments life when things are uplifting, fun, joyous, and playful, but the bigger challenge is sticking with a practice that takes time, patience, and fortitude. Receiving the maximum benefits by loosening the grip we hold upon life to let it breathe, quiver, pulsate to dance of your deepest intentions, desires, and actions that do not set you free from the suffering, pain, and desolation of the world. Rather, help to build a capacity within oneself to not only endure but learn to thrive among life’s adversity. Even if you have had to take a long break away from your mat to tend to proximate matter in life, the practice of yoga is always waiting there for you with open arms to celebrate the growth, development, and maturation of your highest potential through personal responsibility, self-discovery, and breakthrough into deeper meanings of direct experience.
November’s Mantra: “Don’t be resentful of the things you have to do, to make space for the things you really want to do in life.”