Embrace the pace
“Is this shit working?” How many times have I thought this? These days, I receive the reflection back that something is working, or at play, even if I don't understand it and struggle to put it into words.
I believe we live in a culture that craves instant gratification, the quick fix, the energy is, “I want it and I want it now.” The energy of practice offers something else. Practice embraces the journey. In practice, a goal or destination may exist, but there is a repeated folding into the practice itself. Presence.
Pace is personal. What are you practicing? What are you resisting practicing because the journey feels too long, too hard, too scary?
What if you were to embrace the moment and place your trust in the journey? What action would you take today if it was allowed to just be and wasn’t carrying the weight of the greater goal or destination?
I have been re-reading the book, The Mirror of Yoga, by Richard Freeman. Jeanie Manchester talked a great deal about Richard in our podcast interview. There is a link to our conversation below.
Richard’s book is rich with yoga philosophy. I recommend it if you’re looking to deepen your understanding of the history and philosophy of yoga. While I’m recommending yoga books, my most dogeared yoga book is, Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar.
Here are some words from Richard Freeman on practice:
Waking up little by little we begin to meet face-on the experience of not knowing, and we are able to accept that we do not have ultimate control over our own body, let alone the entire universe, so that as we meet the truth of impermanence, change, and time, and we find it to be remarkably exhilarating. This continuum of insight though letting the mind rest in the present moment is at the root of all yoga, which is why it is said that at first yoga seems like a poison but that it then transforms into nectar. As we begin to inquire into our existence and impermanence, observing our body and mind and then the very core of the body - all those feelings and sensations that lie along the central axis become vivid and alive. In this process of yoga, feelings of extreme fear and avoidance often arise when we first encounter change, impermanence, and deeply rooted patterns of feeling within the body. The initial "poison" of yoga is our response to the revelation of truth, which has been avoided for years. But as we continue to practice by inviting the mind to stay with whatever is arising, rather than grasping onto pleasant perceptions and rejecting those things we see as unpleasant, then the nectar of the practice unfolds as the mind dissolves into the core of the heart, revealing the interconnected meta-pattern, the matrix of all things.
As our yoga practice evolves, our power of clear observation increases.
I am honored to be offering another series with Trista Winder. We have titled it, Heart of Yoga. Our intention is to weave yoga philosophy and the modern life experience into a guided practice that includes asana (postures), meditation and pranayama (breathwork). I don’t believe that a yoga practice is the only way to connect to our hearts, but I do think it is one way and I am incredibly grateful to practice these tools. One way that yoga gets to the heart of the matter is through the body.
Our minds are wired for survival and fear pretends to be a friend on the journey. Learning to discern a real threat from an experience we learned as a child, we begin to shift our nervous systems and recognize the fears that hold us back from choices that are connected to our hearts.
Practice is the playground.
I love going to class and I have been making a point to step outside of my home practice and attend a weekly class. The practice meets you where you are. What this means is whether you are new to yoga or an experienced practitioner, there will be a landscape to explore and play.