Choose and Practice/ Don’t Move Unless Breathing

“Try to move only when you’re breathing,” Denise, one of my favorite yoga teachers instructed us in the park.  We were arrayed on our mats in a kind of half-sunburst formation conscientiously distanced but very much together.  It was cold.  The ground was more dirt than grass, and muddy in the brisk misty morning.  

I’d snagged a spot that seemed not too bumpy and not too gopher-hole-y when I first put my mat down to claim it, but now, a few minutes in, I was aware of how very uneven the turf felt and very aware of my first thoughts on the matter: 

“What if my left side does a whole class a little uphill from my right side?  What if I kneel with my knee snuggled into this divot — is that good? Is that bad? Am I gonna paralyze myself? Am I gonna be able to maximize my benefits?”  And the feelings those thoughts prompted were something like stress, maybe even a low-grade panic.

And I noticed that too.  But then, almost instantly, I got to my second thought.  (I practice this noticing my thoughts/feelings thing a decent amount.)  

And my second and third thoughts were, “Hmmm it is interesting to feel this uneven ground below my feet.  I will have to pay attention to where I am stepping if I want to feel even - how cool.  And I know I will be okay even if I am uneven feeling for this class.  Gee it’s fun to be outside for class.  I’m glad I brought my sweatshirt.  How lucky am I!”

And so I got there.  I got from, “Crap it’s cold and dirty and noisy in this park and I’m sad,” to “Ohh it’s so refreshing and amazing that we all showed up to practice safely together amidst all this other park life and I am in bliss this is the best thing ever!” pretty dang fast.  It used to take longer.

And I get to do that with so much stuff, just ease up, stick with it, and see if maybe I can notice that thought that’s making me feel crummy and see what happens if I play with — even just gently entertain the notion of — changing that thought.  And really - this was an epic tip -  trying not to move unless I’m breathing.  No moving my body or my thoughts unless breathing.

So that’s the thought of the day.  Plus I’ve got my new self-created mantra, “I’m doing things differently from how I’ve done them in the past so I can feel different from how I’ve felt in the past.”  If you have a more succinct or fluid phrasing for that concept please share.  

And so, the cold, the gopher holes, the uneven terrain, the shifting ground under my feet, feels like a good parallel for how I’ve been greeting the ever-changing externals in my life.  And I get to meet all that with whatever approach feels right for me.  I get to choose.  Choose and practice, choose and practice.  I’m gonna keep going.  

www.livingeveryminuteofit.com

www.combatcovidstress.com

And - a nudge to check out offerings at your local studio if so moved.  For me it’s www.yogasoup.com