“Yoga is not about tightening your ass. It’s about getting your head out of it.”
~Eric Paskel
Sometimes I think I might be a little dense, whenever it feels like I’m learning the same lessons over and over again. As I continue to practice yoga everyday, and reflect on it, some of those recurring lessons are making themselves very apparent. For example:
I love to do too much: I know I told you all that this was my Month of Yoga experiment, but secretly I was also trying to do the majority of the other experiments on my list: singing and writing and decluttering and reading and cooking and digital detoxing and cutting spending and and and…. I’ve been tiring myself out in a lot of ways other than my main experiment. I want to use the 12 Experiments and the New Year as a catalyst for radical self improvement and reshaping my life. However, right out of the gate I became impatient and a little judgmental. How quickly I put aside self care and compassion to focus on discipline and achievement.
Which leads me to the next lesson: the physical practice of yoga is really just a sneaky access point to the mental, emotional, and spiritual practice of becoming, in a compassionate, kind, and intentional manner.
So this past week I slowed down a bit. I began alternating between public classes and less intense home practices. In the public classes I feel pulled by the intention and energy set by the teacher and the other students. At home, on the other hand, I close my eyes and focus solely on my breath and whatever feels good in my body at that moment. Sometimes I fall out of time and feel the vastness of space. In a period of my life in which I often feel rushed and behind and impatient, these 15 or 20 minutes provide a much needed respite and reset.
Thank you all for reading!
If you want to join in the adventure, here is a step by step guide on how to start your own 12 Experiments.
