I love yoga, but one thing I’ve gotten frustrated with since day one are balance poses. I look around the room and compare myself to others, thinking, “how they can they do this?“, “what’s wrong with me?”, “this sucks!!”. As I become more frustrated the more mistakes I make.
Two weeks ago at yoga I decided I would…
- do my best with the balance pose
- not compare myself with others
- gently try again
I didn’t do so well but I was OK with that because of the intention I had set beforehand. It also allowed me to see where my yoga practice also reflected on my life and when I get off balance. I look around at others, compare myself, see where they’re succeeding and I’m failing, wonder what’s wrong with me and just get mad. Then I try doing what I was doing again–harder, with frustration and falling more off balance each time.
Fast forward to last Wednesday. I was in class and when the instructor said “we’re going to do the tree pose.” I took a deep breath and actually fully listened to what she was saying instead of immediately thinking, “I hate this pose” while looking around to compare myself to others. I took in her instruction of using the bar for balance if we felt that would help, and I moved over to the bar. I also found a Drishti—a point of focus in a pose. Not a person, an object. Then, I took a deep breath and stood in the tree pose. It wasn’t perfect, or for the entire time, but I removed my focus from others and turned it inward–removing the comparison and frustration, allowing more balance.
Disconnecting from our surroundings is the first step that will lead us into concentration (focusing our minds on one thing at a time). If we learn to still our minds, we can be free from any limiting thoughts that bring negativity into our lives and create a feeling of unbalance.
This week I invite you to..
- Take your focus off of others
- Listen
- Let go of resistance
- Use support that’s there
- Focus on the Drishti
It may not be perfect, but nothing ever is and the more you practice the better you’ll become.
“As Marianne Williamson puts it, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.” Once you’ve awakened to this light, you will gradually, almost involuntarily, begin to act more like yourself—not out of a desire to attack anyone else’s truth, but simply because you cannot un-see what you have seen. Without your having to force it or try or even hope, the truth will set you free.”
Martha Beck~ The Joy Diet
