Today’s lesson was about doing something you find difficult, and lovingly practice it for five minutes.
I went a little above and beyond with this one today. I chose a thirty-five minute flow entitled “Half Crow.” Crow Pose is one of my favorite poses, but it is also very difficult for me to do. It’s probably one of the harder arm-balance poses out there. The flow taught me some new ways to practice building strength and stability leading up to Crow Pose. It also gave me so new insight into my body positioning and whatnot. With all of this help… guess what?!?! I went from being able to hold Crow Pose for about 2-3 seconds at a time to holding it for 10+ seconds at a time today!!
I still am not ready for the advanced moves they were doing, but I had so much fun practicing. I went into the practice with an open heart. When I found myself getting discouraged, I took a deep breath and tried again. With my open heart, I accepted where I am at today and the rest just unfolded. It was such a beautiful moment for me. I was alone in the living room with no witnesses… just me and my mat. I couldn’t have asked for a better moment for this to happen. Of course afterword, I ran into the kitchen to share the news and then demonstrate again!
The reading from Meditations from the Mat dove into the third yama, asteya, or nonstealing. This reading was a great reminder that we all steal in some way or another, whether we realize it or not. Using time at work for activities unrelated to work, skimming from your taxes, items borrowed that we never returned. Gates points out that we often make excuses for our stealing behaviors: having a bad day at work or even the power of want overriding our values.
Gates says that when we let go of wanting, we ultimately get what we want. It’s just that act of letting go of things and leaving it with the universe to handle. I’ve been trying to do more of this in my life, but I am a self-admitted control freak. I have a hard time letting go of things. I like to see things through, to control the process so that I know things get done. Which is perhaps why I always find myself under a lot of stress. I have been a lot less stressed lately, so I must be doing something right!
I am going to try to be more productive at work, remembering to return things, and just being more honest in general. I feel like those things tend to weigh us down, whether or not we notice that extra weight. Here’s to feeling lighter!