Giving & Receiving

Sometimes I get so focused on receiving (what I want and need) that I forget about giving. If I operate from a giving standpoint, I tend to get what I need/want anyway. It's really just a shift in perspective. Approach the world from a giving place, create abundance and then, you get it back. I don't always know what to give though. Of course I give something by teaching yoga, but that doesn't always feel like "concrete" giving. I can offer a compliment, a dollar to someone who needs it, a small gift to a loved one (or a stranger for that matter). In "Comfortable With Uncertainty", Pema Chodron talks about engaging in some kind of giving practice on a daily basis. You can even just imagine giving away something that is precious to you to create the "energy" of giving. Some people actually give stuff away. I think it's important to remember that you still need stuff though, so don't go giving away your pots and pans if you still plan on cooking! I've done this and then was like, "crap, I need that thing." When I'm on my mat, it may seem like I'm just doing for myself or just receiving, but a yoga practice is also a giving practice. I can dedicate my practice to someone or something. And each time I practice, I cultivate greater strength and balance so that giving becomes easier in everyday life. I "work on" myself so that I can give back to the world.

Yoga, You Tricky Little Bugger

On the surface, yoga seems like a body practice. You learn about your body and how to unlock it and align it so everything moves together beautifully. But the body is just the vehicle for transformation. Ultimately, the practice becomes more about mindfulness and uncovering the inner workings of your mind and unlocking your true nature so everything moves together more beautifully. It is through your body that you start to make discoveries, under the surface discoveries. It's almost like a little trick. Here, come work on your body and little do you know you're moving into a whole different realm. We may come to the practice with hopes of finding more physical freedom and we find much, much more. A whole new kind of freedom. Yoga has lots of tricks up it's sleeves. A pose or teaching has a surface meaning and there are always many layers of meaning and richness underneath. Being at the surface can be beneficial, but try diving in and see what happens!

Rocky

My teacher has a painfully shy and completely adorable little dog that she sometimes brings to the studio. I believe he's a rescue, so possibly there's some trauma in his little dog past. His name is Rocky. For some reason, I feel overwhelmed by the desire to hug Rocky, but I don't because he is so shy that he doesn't even want people to look at or pet him. He sometimes retreats into his little portable dog house. He sort of trembles and at the same time looks so sweet. I almost want to cry when I see him. This may sound nuts, but I think Rocky reminds me of myself. I was painfully shy when I was younger (traces of it linger even now) and sometimes I feel like I want to retreat into my own little dog house and not have anyone touch me. I want to hug Rocky because I want to embrace myself, to embrace the most tender and sad place in my heart. His vulnerability makes him lovable because we all know that we are vulnerable and there is a sweetness in us just like Rocky's sweet innocence. This whole identifying with a dog thing came to me on my mat today when I was meditating. One of the beautiful benefits of yoga is learning to embrace ourselves fully, even the most sad, tender and traumatized parts. It makes us want to give ourselves a hug. I started to cry during my meditation when I thought about (and felt) this self-embrace.

Organization Madness

Is it possible to be too organized? The answer is yes if it interferes with other aspects of your life. So, yes for me! Today, I took a step back and observed myself being obsessively organized. So organized in fact, that I forgot to pause and enjoy my life. I do the same thing on the mat (that's probably how I first noticed it). I get too caught up in the details and organizing my own alignment that I forget to pause and enjoy the pose. I forget to feel. Luckily, I have teachers constantly reminding me to do just that. Pause...and feel. I used to do the same thing when I was waiting tables. I was super efficient and took care of all the details but I never took time to pause and interact with the customers or to enjoy myself while I was working. It's good to plan and take care of things, but if that's all you're doing, what's the point? Step back and see the big picture. Enjoy yourself!

Testing Grounds

Today my teacher called the mat a "testing grounds". Naturally, I was interested right away, since I call the mat a "microcosm". It's similar, but not exactly the same. I think of a testing ground as a place to find out how you hold up when x, y or z is thrown at you. If you can "handle" it on the mat, you can handle whatever is thrown at you in real life. And how you handle it is key as well. Can you handle the challenge with skill, grace, ease? We can refine our methods for dealing with challenges and refine our reactions on the mat, on the testing ground and then we're ready for the off mat stuff. It's like you're getting better at life by practicing yoga.

Heart Leads the Way

Modern life brings us into a rounded forward position. Have you seen those t-shirts with the "evolution" of man coming from all 4's to upright and then back into a hunched over position looking at a computer? When we align ourselves on the mat, we undo this "computer posture" by settling everything back (the top of the thighs, the shoulders, the head). Pretty much everything settles back except the heart (your chest). It's a nice way to approach things-lead with the heart and let everything else step back out of the way. We embody "heart leads the way" in our yoga practice and then try to live that off that mat. It's so simple and clear and should be so obvious but we forget because our modern posture closes off the chest and the heart and brings the head to the front. Brain is in the lead and nothing else matters. Don't get me wrong, brains are important and thinking is important, but the heart is much wiser. And it just feels really good to stand up straight with your heart lifted.

It's Easy to Forget

How often do you think about the back of your body? I mean, yes, you probably turn around to check out your butt in the mirror, but that probably is all the attention you give the whole back plane. I really appreciate the days when my teacher reminds us to think about and feel the back of our bodies. "Rest into the back of your body" is how my teacher often puts it. It takes me out of the mind set of "what's next" and brings me into the present. Even just breathing into the back body can bring a beautiful sense of calm and fullness. Try doing plank pose and float everything back (your thighs, your waist, your head) and you just feel lighter. So the "mat as microcosm" point I'd like to make is that if it's that easy to forget about a whole physical side of your body, it must be easy to forget about or ignore whole aspects of ourselves (emotionally, spiritually, etc). What parts do we forget? Well, I can tell you that I often forget the part that wants to just have fun. I forget the part that reminds me of really scary and uncomfortable past stuff. I forget the part that is divine and is part of the whole. Shadow parts, innocent parts, "bad" parts, feminine/masculine parts, consciousness parts and on and on. It's so easy to forget. Little reminders like "rest into the back of your body" can awaken us to all the forgotten bits of ourselves that when awakened and remembered can help us feel more full, joyful and authentic.