Saturday, February 6, 2010

The quest to learn how to let it go

Sometimes disappointment comes in many forms. We often disappoint ourselves, whether it is in our jobs, our relationships, or in our yoga. Fortunately, the feeling of disappointment in yoga only lasts for brief moments. The feeling of, “Oh, I am having such a bad class” or, “my bow pose will never improve.” Lucky for us, the next day, there is a new class. A new you. The slate is wiped clean. It doesn’t matter what we did yesterday. All that matters is the here and the now.

So why does the feeling of disappointment grip so much longer and tighter in real life? When these feelings take a hold, why are they so hard to let go? I speak so loudly of the wonderful effects that yoga has on my life, and how it is a perfect correlation of so many amazing things in my life. But when it comes to feelings of sadness, hurt, disappointment, embarassment… why can’t I wipe it away as easily as a “bad class”?

I guess the only difference is that yoga is only about me. It is me, and my body, and my reflection in the mirror. How do I turn that solidarity within myself in the hot room into solidarity outside of the hot room? How do I keep my heart strings in check, with the knowledge that my peace has been stolen?

“If anybody steals your peace, YOU are the loser!”

How do we “let it go” like a bad class?

When feelings are involved, how can we NOT be affected?

3 comments:

  1. Life is harder than yoga. :(

    Or, putting it a different way: Life is the hardest kind of yoga.

    Knowing and feeling aren't really the same thing. (I also tend to convince myself that they are, and then get upset when I have feelings that I "know" I "shouldn't" have. This is the kind of logic that leads to crisis-intervention cross-country phone calls at 6am, just FYI.) You HAVE to be affected. You're not actually supposed to stop having feelings, no matter how good of a yogi you are!! But i do hope that you get to take your peace back soon...!!

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  2. life is harder then yoga that is so true! at least we have the yoga to help balance the life.

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  3. Life IS harder than yoga. YOU are so right. But forgiveness is our yoga, too. And lucky for me, I'm good at both.

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