Oh, You Think Chair Pose is Hard?😂

Ok, don’t get me wrong, I DO think chair pose is a challenging pose….but how about that “yoga off the mat” stuff?! In my personal opinion, that’s where stuff gets HARD, like the most challenging things I’ve ever done, kinda hard. The path of yoga invites us to take action, take control and take responsibility for our life. What a tremendous act of bravery it is to set foot on the yogic path and really examine your life-relationships (with yourself, your family, your partner, your friends, your work, your phone, your kids), boundaries or lack thereof, mental/physical/emotional health, tendencies, repetitive thoughts, reliances, your relationship with patience, forgiveness, heartache, shame, guilt, loss and compassion. How you spend your moments is how you spend your days. How you spend your days is how you spend your life. And let us not forget, your life always reflects you.

A yoga teacher I deeply admire shared something along the lines of, “When you walk the path of yoga, you wake up and you can no longer play the victim in your life. This is your life, it’s happening now, and the clock is ticking.” Yoga encourages us to not be afraid and helps us to build up our capacity for discomfort. It gives us an opportunity to reflect, and bring awareness into everything we do. Luckily, we can refer to the 8 Limbs and take note of all the ways we can practice yoga off the mat. I was recently reminder that out of the 196 Sutras of Patanjali, (the path to enlightenment and liberation) only ONE sutra refers to physical posture. (The 8 Limbs: Restraints, Observances, Postures, Breath Control, Sense Withdrawal, Concentration, Meditation, Oneness/Absorption).

Every moment is an opportunity to practice yoga-got a super passive aggressive text message from someone? Someone stealing a bunch of your time and energy? Person in traffic pissing you off? Someone lied to you? You lied to someone? You lied to yourself? Got a cavity? (No I didn’t😂) Your rent got jacked up? Said yes to doing something when you really wanted to say no? Credit card got hacked? Thoughts from the past creeping in and literally eating you alive? Your flight gets delayed? Someone give you a super lame comment about being sober? The weather ruin your plans? Got a dirty look from the barista? Realizing you’re maybe not being totally clear with your partner about something? Told a white-lie to the in-laws? Not sure if you trust yourself? Letting your mind create an entire story? The list is absolutely endless! (By the way, everything I blog about is something I’m currently working through/on too).

Yoga gives us the “sacred pause.” In the sacred pause we have two choices…we can respond our familiar, habitual way or we can perhaps try to respond in an unfamiliar, new way. In the words of Viktor Frankl, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Pema Chodron writes extensively about this too. This sacred pause gives us the opportunity to take ownership and ask, “What triggers me? Why does this trigger me? Why am I responding this way? Does this serve me? Am I acting in my best interest? What happens when I respond that way? How do I feel when I respond that way? Could I try responding in a new way? Am I relying on some specific external outcome imagining it’s going to quench my thirst?” This is NOT easy. I repeat, this is NOT easy. Asking ourselves these hard questions requires honesty, vulnerability, deep compassion and a growth mindset. We refer to these habitual tendencies and patterns as Samskaras: “The subtle psychological imprints, habits, and subconscious tendencies left by our past actions, thoughts, and experiences. Rooted in Indian philosophy (including Yoga, Hinduism, and Buddhism), they form the "grooves" in our mind that shape our behaviors, automatic reactions, and worldview.” And of course, these Samskaras do not always serve us. It is up to each of us to reflect on our life, our behaviors, and “work through our stuff.”

Thankfully, The Yoga Sutras and the 8 Limb Path are incredible guidelines and threads to help us cultivate inner steadiness (among the chaos). It encourages us to put in whole hearted, sincere effort and at the same time practice non-attachment (the willingness to let it be). The 8 Limbs and Sutras lovingly nudge us to find the middle path, to live your life in the best way. It’s simple, but it is not easy. Good on you for being here.

This blog was deeply inspired by Yoga Philosophy Immersion at Humble Warrior Power Yoga. I am constantly trying to weave the Yamas & Niyamas into my teachings. My current teaching schedule is Tuesdays & Fridays at 5:30 AM, and Sundays at 8 AM. I thrive in the early mornings…See you there! ❤️‍🔥🙏🏼🫶🏼

Suggested Reading; The Yamas & Niyamas by Deborah Adele