Hard to believe it is December already, as the new year approaches, so does my birthday. At the end of the year, the holiday seasons, even birthdays, we evaluate and reflect our successes and where we have fallen short, and if I'm being honest, we can be pretty harsh critics. I've been thinking a lot about yoga for the sake of joy, and made this the theme for the last two weeks of November's sequencing. Yes, yoga is a practice of handling discomfort, and caring for our bodies while managing emotions, but can there be elements of joy experienced while holding a tree pose for example? Why not? Why not practice yoga because it is fun and joyful? Even if you have a wobbly and unstable tree, how we confront this is where we can practice. One of my first lessons relating to this came to me by discovering my mom's Ali MacGraw Yoga Mind & Body video (yes on VHS, so retro). The video features yoga master Erich Schiffmann taking us through a yogic journey through this beautiful, chic, straight-out-of-the 90's-United-Colors-of-Benetton-ad-like desert scene pictured below. |
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*click on picture for the full video uploaded to youtube Erich Schiffmann explains in this video as he's cueing tree pose, "Do not worry if you sway, trees sway" I found this to be so hilarious because a. this is the truth, and b. he was saying it dramatically in a relaxing yoga teacher voice. To this day I cue this teaching tree pose to honor that lesson learned in the 90's practicing yoga in my living room. You have the ability to respond to your wobbly tree with a smile, and even lean into the edges of the swaying process to find your balance. |
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As I type this, it is raining outside, the seasons are changing even here in Los Angeles, where the only real weather shifts are oven hot days and chilly nights. While writing out the sequence for the first two weeks of December all that came to mind was renewal. When we think about renewal, what is the motivation? To be better, faster, stronger? Sure! When I start to think of it deeper, the practice is more about the purification of our hearts, not perfection. A lesson learned from Jack Kornfield's book After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. | | |
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I had a close friend and student text me the other day asking if it was ok to come practice even though she is feeling tired and worn out from being sick the previous week. When we are really sick and hacking and coughing all over the place, maybe taking a day or two off practice is part of the lesson in getting to know ourselves better, BUT if you are tired, feeling lazy, or in recovery-mode from being sick, just show up and see what happens. Explore what is going on with your body and use that time to communicate with yourself through the class. I show up for practice almost daily, and sometimes I am in childs pose for a good portion of the class, but I feel accomplishment by simply just being there. Good yoga student etiquette when you are feeling some type of way (at least for me, personally) is to pick a spot near the back, or off to the side, also just alerting your teacher ahead of time where your headspace is at can be helpful. Showing up is the reward of any practice, and the results are collateral. |
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