So much of what happens on the mat is about bringing together the actions in the body to become one. We find the push and the pull in the pose and try to do them with equal effort, so the two actions become one and UNITE…This is the meaning of yoga. Lately I keep being shown examples of the opposing forces and elements and it has become apparent to me that as always this is not just a lesson for the mat but an important lesson for life.

As you know I teach both vinyasa and yin. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to yoga and finding the balance of doing both in your practice is so important. Within each of the styles there is a give and take, a reconciliation of stillness and movement, hard and soft and effort and surrender. I find myself speaking to this no matter which style I am teaching.

This week I have been especially aware of this important message and realized how much this teaching applies to our lives off the mat. We spend a lot of time “liking this” or “not liking that”. We are making judgments and getting wrapped up in what we are doing without giving ourselves a chance to be the observer of it all. We like one pose and find the sensations to be exciting and feel good, then the next one hurts and we dislike it and can’t wait for it to be over….The truth is that if we can learn to make the movements and articulate our bodies without any attachment or expectations, we would find ourselves being yoga rather than doing yoga. Yoga is asking us to pay attention, not to doing our poses perfectly, but to how we are doing them, what we are thinking and feeling as we do them. Most of all we look to maintain a consistent breath throughout the entire practice. While this may sound simple, it isn’t easy. I can promise you that you are training yourself and leaning life skills that are going to be way more valuable than any pose you can or cannot do.

When this becomes your approach to your time on the mat the lessons are easy to see as a metaphor for life. We don’t always know what we are training for or how the yoga will serve us as we navigate our lives. A perfect example for me is the Valentine’s Day Holiday and the Anniversary of the Parkland Shooting. How can we celebrate a day that is suppose to represent the giving and receiving of LOVE and the remembrance of a day of trauma and grief? Yoga teaches us not to attach to the good or the bad but to be able to somehow be in both. Life is filled with a multitude of emotions and experiences and they range from the sweetest things to horrific tragedy. On the mat we learn that there is nothing to do but let ourselves be in it. We also learn that it is alright to feel all of it. The mat and the practice give us a safe place to “be ourselves”. We can choose to take actions that will reconcile the wrongs and make them right. We can find the balance and seek equanimity and justice. Maybe with a regular dedicated yoga practice we can navigate the ups and downs of life with a little more grace. As the opposing forces of life are reconciled, we may find some peace and unity in the world. It starts with each of us and it happens on the mat!!

RECONCILING OPPOSITES...