How seriously do you take your yoga? 
I had reason to reflect on my own approach this week as I sat down to write my monthly newsletter for my students. Truthfully - I struggled this month! Yogini writer's block I guess they'd call it!
Sometimes it just flows: I see, hear or read something and I get an idea, and that's me - off the starting block! Other times I stare at the blank space on the computer and wait for inspiration........sometimes a long, frustrating wait!
I tell myself I'll "work out a better system", so there's always a bank of ideas just waiting for me to use. (Still working on that one!) I search through all my mass of books/teaching notes/yoga magazines looking for inspiration, and nothing jumps out at me. I search frantically as the deadline approaches for something "meaningful" and serious to share with my students......
And then I catch myself and realise….
The more I pressure myself, the harder the task becomes; the less I enjoy the process and the greater the risk I’ll end up writing something which really isn’t me: which doesn’t come from my heart.
And that's when I found myself laughing at myself!
I took a break - and googled "funny yoga quotes."
I had a giggle.
And I suddenly realised two things:
- I had an inspiration for the newsletter!
- Yoga is NOT all about having to be serious!
Humour is an amazing thing: it can not only help us laugh at our human frailties; our vulnerabilities and our challenges - it can teach us to be a little gentler on ourselves and remind us we are only human!
I read an article the other day which said many of us simply transfer our existing tightly wound up habits into the yoga class or our time on the mat so we have little chance of relaxing at all!
How many of these do you recognize in yourself?
- Frantically checking your phone or sending a message just before class starts.
- Feeling piqued because a newbie just took the space you usually have in class!
- Worrying you’re “not doing it right.”
- Comparing yourself with others.
- Telling yourself you’re “no good.”
- Feeling a failure because you don’t practice enough (or at all!) at home.
- Making your shopping list in Savasana!
3 or more? Guilty as charged?! Sheesh! How wound up can you get?!
Seriously…(for a moment at least!):
STOP IT!!! RIGHT NOW!
Wherever you’re starting from;
progress in anything meaningful is a bumpy road!
The fact you’re reading this means you’re at least ON that road!
Give yourself a high five for showing up, don't take it too seriously, and enjoy the journey!!
