Yoga Teacher's New Year Reflections
/In yoga practice, as in life, it is important to check in with yourself—to see how you are doing, what your needs are, and how you might improve going forward.
This end-of-year post is doing that for me.
Where have I been this year, and what have I learned? Here are three lessons…
1. Do what you can, when you can, for however long you can. At a yoga workshop I attended earlier this year a teacher reminded me that an hour-long yoga practice is a luxury. I have spent recent years frustrated by not having enough time to dedicate to my yoga practice. Between work, kids, and house, yoga is often something I can devote time to only during ten-minute (optimistic number here) gaps in my hectic daily schedule—and sometimes appears as little more than a singular conscious breath while washing dishes. I have only had a handful of hour-long yoga practices this year (all of them occurring while I was out of town without the kids); what was the norm for me years ago isn’t any longer.
I look at this as a lesson in self-acceptance and presence, and just like there are physical limitations to practicing yoga, so too can there be other constraints—emotional or time or otherwise. It is important to accept that all practices are valid. Just as having flexibility in your hamstrings doesn’t dictate the strength of your practice or “how good you are at yoga,” neither does the duration of your practice. The key is whether you show up and make the effort consistently. Two minutes or twenty or ninety, everyone comes to the mat with some baggage, but recognize it might not be the same for you day to day.
2. Stop gripping. I hold my poses tightly and grip internally—thank you, Deborah Wolk, for pointing this out. Gripping leads to added tension, which isn’t good for anxiety or digestion. Can I find a way to bring more softness to my body…and life? It’s something I’ll work toward and be conscious of in the new year.
3. I’m tired. Oh so tired. Feeling run-down is an indicator that something is out of balance. Am I doing too much physically, mentally, or emotionally? Am I managing my diet, stress levels, or sleep routine well? In my case, thanks to children, no! So, what does this mean for the coming year? Like in the first lesson, I might need to begin to accept little wins like a ten-minute nap or reduce my mental load by turning down a work project or two. The more energy I have, the more I can find ways to do and share what I love.
In preparation for the new year, I will share a quote to serve as a reminder of presence and what we truly have control over:
“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow; so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”