Like Dr. Seuss’s book, Oh The Places You’ll Go, perhaps some day I’ll write a book for my yoga students titled Oh The Obstacles You’ll Meet.
In class I often refer to these obstacles as “resistance”. When I first began the yoga asana practice I met the resistance of my hamstrings, my hips, and my spine. I met the resistance of neglected and denied emotions. I met the resistance of my self-doubt, the twisted knot of my lack of self-compassion, and the exhaustion of an unloved body. I met the resistance of a chronically dense sensation in my heart-center. I met the resistance of an over-active inner-critic. I met the resistance of an over-active perfectionist. Oh the Resistance I Met.
In the face of resistance on the yoga mat I have found the following questions to be very powerful and empowering tools: How am I meeting this resistance? Am I meeting this resistance with a fight - with my fists clenched, teeth gripped and shallow breath? Can I meet this resistance with its opposite - with a patient exhalation, a soft loose jaw and with loving compassion directed to the area of resistance?
Consider the lives and choices of Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa and Gandhi. These individuals lives reflect the possibility (and power) in meeting resistance with something other than...more resistance. They met life's inevitable resistances with non-violence, calm, compassion and intelligence. Their lives teach me that since resistance is inevitable how I handle resistance is my only choice. Staying tuned to how I confront obstacles and choosing a love-based response to them is one way to practice living yoga off the mat.
Oh the Compassion We'll Cultivate.
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3 comments:
"the resistance of my self-doubt, the twisted knot of my lack of self-compassion, and the exhaustion of an unloved body"
...so well-said. I very much enjoy your writing! I can relate to it, and the personal strides you speak of are obvious in the way you instruct your classes.
I needed this. I have been confronting this SO much in my life lately. I am getting better at changing my pardigm when confronted with resistence , but obviously one's gut reactions don't change over-night. You are so right about mind's chatter. If you can tune that out and re-focus from a place of compassion, it's amazing how much better you can handle certain situations. Even when you don't really want to! (change your paradigm, that is)
Beautiful writing, Lauran.
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