Happiness
Embracing the Dread
#8 in a series of posts that addresses the topics listed in this article.
“I have poses I dread and avoid practicing and teaching.”
The easy answer is no, neither Ramdas nor I have postures we dread practicing or teaching. The real question, however, is what causes the dread? If you are avoiding a particular pose because of dread, or some other emotion, then might I suggest you not avoid it? I’m not suggesting you talk yourself into liking something you dread, but rather to simply notice what it is about that pose that makes you so uncomfortable.
More often than not, you have reached some sort of edge, whether physical, mental or emotional, and you no longer have the ability to remain at ease in the posture. This is the moment where you can really engage in some self-study. Again, yoga postures are a place to practice yoga, where we learn about ourselves, learn what causes us to react and to help us increase our capacity for being at ease in more and more situations. As I wrote in this post, postures are deliberately designed to make us uncomfortable so we can grow and learn, and if we avoid those posture that we know make us uncomfortable, how will we ever evolve, and in turn, live with greater ease and happiness? Food for thought.
Jai Bhagwan
Read MoreWanting What You Have
Life is indeed full of ease when one is happy, but I would like to go one step deeper. For many, happiness is in direct relation to getting what we want. If we get what we want, we are happy. If we don’t get what we want, we are unhappy. If you loose your job, you’re unhappy. Perhaps you feel you ought to be thinner, so you’re unhappy. Maybe you’re diagnosed with an illness, making you unhappy. Your calendar might be full and you just want free time, so you’re unhappy. Only examples of course, but I’m willing to bet you can think of something that applies to you personally. If we examine our lives, truly look with sincerity, we’ll discover that most of our unhappiness comes from not getting what we want. I’m not suggesting that wants are bad, heaven’s no, but I do suggest that not always getting what we want causes quite a bit of upheaval and more often than not, we don’t even realize it.
I have a friend who has a quote painted on her kitchen wall that reads, “Life isn’t about having what you want, it’s about wanting what you have.” I recently read this quote again and all I could think was this pretty much sums up yoga. Yoga is designed to help you recognize that you can be happy and at ease in any situation.
This past week I have been blessed with some croup in my lungs. Breathing was horribly painful, I coughed, I was congested and had no voice, and I was happy about it. But why? I certainly didn’t choose to be sick, but I was; so, instead of being miserable I accepted it, and considered being sick an opportunity to slow down, to sit still and think about some things that needed my full attention. I was happy.
In practicing yoga, you will face some of your edges and you will experience some disappointment, but this is where you’ll discover the dividends of a diligent yoga practice. Each time we step onto that yoga mat we are cultivating our ability to deal with life’s challenges, whatever they happen to be. You will be led into postures that you might determine too easy or too difficult, but you will learn to adapt and soon you will begin to discover that you’ve expanded your ability to develop ease in more and more situations. Once you become aware of this affect during your yoga practice, you’ll soon recognize that you can apply those tools outside of your practice. As one of my teachers is fond of saying, “Don’t think of posture practice as the practice of yoga, but only a place to practice yoga.” Your practice on the mat will leak out into your everyday life making happiness and ease available at every moment, not just when you are getting what you want.
Classes are scheduled to begin February 14. Please check the website for class times and location, and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We’re here to help!
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