Fertile Ground

“Yoga postures challenge our settled patterns, and the process can be painful, difficult, and frustrating. But the asanas (poses) are also a constructive means to work with these difficulties.” ~ Excerpt from Heart of The Yogi, The Philosophical World of Hatha Yoga by Doug Keller.

For many of us, when we finally begin to name what we are longing for, we find ourselves either jumping for joy and excitement or running terrified and petrified towards our favourite hiding place. People in my life would tell you that I’m really good at running and hiding (in fact an expert!) at any sign of personal dreams unfolding. Especially the kinds of dreams that would require the most risk taking and most embracing of unknown paths. Suddenly, I become ‘too busy’ to go in a new direction or to slow down long enough to allow for new blooms. When some dreams begin to bloom my default response is not always jumping for joy and excitement. Often it’s not long before endless worrying and being ‘too busy’ begins.

Sound familiar?

In my practice, I have continued to explore resistance by giving myself permission to fully embody and be present in the experience of the resistance when I experience it in my body or mind – whether it is a thought, an emotion or a muscle contraction. Whether it comes up on or off the mat. There is a world of emotions embedded in the emotional, physical and mental bodies and they manifest in many ways. One way is resistance. Resistance can be a strong indicator of our limits in those areas and lets us know how far we are able to go, in any given moment and on any given day. It is a guarantee that a yoga practice will have you bumping up against all kinds of resistance. One of the keys is to honour that resistance and move through it compassionately and safely.

As I explore resistance, I’m reminded of how important it is to honour the wisdom of resistance. It has something to say. It has a job to do and it takes it quite seriously. It’s served me well at many points throughout my life and is definitely there to prevent me from injuring myself. However sometimes this protection can become a major hindrance when I’m wanting to move beyond the familiar places of a pose while another part of me just wants to push through and find new elements of it. Usually this desire to stop comes from a place of fear. Fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of injury and sometimes just plain old habitual fear based thoughts or emotions that might live in my muscles or mind.

When I let myself just be there with resistance, it is easier and easier to simply put my attention on observing and watching myself. Watch the parts of me that don’t want to go any further in a pose. Observe the parts of me that want to force myself deeper into a pose. Be curious about the parts of me that want to open, grow and stretch into a new experience. Sometimes, I am rewarded with moments of pure freedom and I find myself moving effortlessly and fearlessly from bridge to a full arc. What a feeling!

Like with many experiences that require that we let go of something and try something new you may not like showing up to resistance at first. Over time, you might grow to like it and maybe even love it. And if you never like it, at the very least you might grow to recognize it, care about it and honour it. And, as always, breath is a powerful ally.

Take your time, honour your process, from moment to moment, from one breath to the next. Don’t worry about ‘accomplishing’ a pose and pushing through your mind or body’s tightness or reluctance to move. Just keep showing up and breathing into the soft edges of resistance.

Resistance is a wise ally and fertile ground for growth. This perspective can profoundly change our personal yoga practice as well as our worlds, for the better.

I invite you be curious about where you feel resistance in both your life and your yoga practice. Be curious about the way resistance does and doesn’t serve you. When does it protect you? When does it prevent you? How does it inform you?

Pose: Matsyasana, also known as 'fish pose', is a great pose for exploring a sense of new expansiveness in areas of the body where we often feel resistance to opening, such as the heart, lower back and hips. It's also a great pose in which to explore resistance, compassion and courage.

Begin by laying on your back with arms resting at the sides. Take a few deep breaths. Relax the shoulders down away from the ears and gently tuck the shoulder blades under you. Take a deep breath and allow your chest muscles to expand and begin to relax. Bend the knees and place the soles of the feet on the floor as your press the sacrum (bottom of your tailbone) into the ground. Continue to take long deep breaths. Place the hands under the buttocks, palms down. Slowly straighten the legs to the ground and keep the feet and toes softly pointed. Simultaneously press down into the elbows, lifting the chest and bring the top of the head onto the ground (or onto a prop, such as a folded blanket or block if your the top of your head does not reach the ground). Breathe deeply. Press the forearms into the ground, so there is only light pressure on the head with the resting point of the head being just behind the crown. Remain in this pose, taking long and deep breaths for 1-3 minutes. If you'd like, you can repeat the following mantra as you breath: ‘Clear communication is my bridge to wisdom and compassion.’

To release from the pose gently bend the knees and place the soles of the feet on the floor. Lower slowly down out of Matsyana and draw the knees into the chest and rock gently from side to side.

Additional Suggestions: Imagine that your breath is filled with light. You can select a colour that feels right for you. Inhale and exhale that colour. Any time your mind starts to wander, you can bring your attention to the colour you’ve selected and observe it moving with your breath in your mind’s eye as it circles through your respiratory system. You can also intentionally direct it to any parts of your body or areas where you feel resistance to assist you with being present in the pose. As you release and stretch out the pose, sense the integration of any nuggets of wisdom, courage or compassion that surfaced. Also, sense the movement or release of any emotions or thoughts that you might have experienced. Breathe deeply. If you feel like further integrating your experience, you can journal your experience.

Longing For Connection

Sometimes life takes us on a journey that has us plugged into and connected to people, places and things that may not be the best for us - anymore... and sometimes life leads us to people, places and circumstances that have the potential to transform, sustain and inspire us in ways that we've only ever dreamed of being possible - for others, but not for us - so we keep on moving, stuffing our longing for something more deep deep down into our bellies and hearts.

We need to listen to the longing that is stirring in our bodies. It is telling us that something else is possible. It is asking us to move beyond the boxes that we have constructed and compartmentalized our lives in.

There are circumstances that feed us and circumstances that deplete us and you can rest assured that your body will tell you when it's had enough of a certain person, place or thing and even when it's had enough of a particular behaviour of it's very own - and if you listen real close, it will tell you what it needs, wants and wishes for.

Sometimes it's not so easy to discern what is for us and what is not for us, especially if it is a core part of our life - like a relationship, a lifestyle, a career, a community, a philosophy, a habit or even an aspect of our identity.

Lately, I have decided to pay attention to and explore bubbling feelings of intense longing for more that have been surfacing inside of me for the last couple of years and that have been growing even stronger during the past few months. What I've discovered didn't surprise me.

What I am deeply longing for is connection.

Connection to my own heart, body, mind and soul, to family and friends, to my partner, to community, to spirit, to my purpose and to a deeper, sustained experience of health in all levels of my being and within all relationships. These important connections are often lost admist the bustle and demands of our many roles, identities and busy lives.

What I am deeply longing for is a more authentic relationship to that which truly sustains me and the courage to just go for it. When I sit with my longing I am reminded that it is up to me to nourish and foster the connections that I long for and it is clear that in doing so, my life will be richer and fuller and a much more fertile realm in which to plant and grow a deluxe assortment of the most amazing dreams - mine and yours.

When was the last time that you tuned into what you really long for?

Recipe for June: Unplug, Reconnect. Repeat as many times as required until desired nourishment is experienced. Practice this often for long-lasting results.

Pose: Both Padmasana 'Seated Lotus' and Ardha Padmasana 'Seated Half-Lotus' are great positions to assist you with tuning into the rumblings, emotions and wisdom in the body. In this pose, while keeping your attention on your breath, take a long, slow, deep inhale into the belly, into your ribcage and slowing expand the inhale softly up into your heart. Then take a long, slow, deep exhale slowly moving back down from your heart, to your ribcage and finally your belly. Repeat for a few minutes. If your mind wanders, just keep coming back to your breath. Being seated in this pose for 2-3 minutes is sufficient time to begin to connect with the emotions in the belly. When you are done the breathing, why not take a few moments to journal about what you felt? Be curious. Notice the themes that come up and see if you might find a way to answer the call of what you are really longing for.

RESISTANCE IS FERTILE !

Meeting Resistance

During a yoga class that I recently attended, after a long and healing Savasana (corpse pose), the yoga teacher invited students to go out into the world and 'try to meet resistance in our lives like we did on our yoga mats during the class.'

Since then, I've been testing this idea out in my day to day activities. I've been meeting resistance and my relationship to it, in all sorts of relationships and situations: with friends, colleagues, family, partner, myself and even with strangers. I've soared on a few occasions, tread water during others and also experienced some crashing and burning. It's been kind of like trying to go further in a more challenging yoga pose on the mat. Sometimes the effort is rewarded and the experience is exhilarating. Sometimes the effort is just totally awkward or painful and the pose just doesn't feel right. Usually resistance to working with how my body wants to move that day is what finds me crashed out or just not feeling it. Its when I work with that resistance using a few key tricks that I can get closer to or experience the exhilaration of embodying and enjoying the bliss of a challenging pose.

Lately it feels like I'm alot better at meeting resistance on the mat than in the more challenging areas of my life. But on the mat is a great place to start cultivating the skills that will help me to navigate resistance in my life. The skills are simple: show up, stay grounded, breathe. I can't help but notice that when I apply these skills in my life - even when I don't want to - inevitably resistance starts to give in, movement is possible and the moments unfold with a little more ease. In life, this can be challenging and the exhilaration experienced on the mat can feel a little bit more elusive.

Especially if I am doing the work - showing up, grounding and breathing - and nothing seems to be happening. If the person I'm trying to resolve an issue with doesn't respond. If the car doesn't start. If I can't advance in a pose. If my day isn't going as planned. If the weather keeps changing. As it turns out, I am learning that it seems that none of that matters. What seems to matter is how I'm relating to my own resistance and my ability to show up, be grounded and breathe, no matter what is happening. However that person wants to behave. However the car is acting today. However the pose looks today. However the day is unfolding. However the weather wants to change.

It doesn't matter. What an exhilarating thought!

If we can call upon these key skills, then resistance has a few juicy lessons to teach us:

To show up. To be grounded. To breathe.

And, to surrender.

Pose: Savasana, also known as 'corpse' pose is prime time to integrate new ideas, skills and healing energy without doing any work at all. Similar times in life are the pauses we take before responding or reacting to a situation, a few conscious moments we might spend taking in a glorious sunset, a sweet nap or a good night's sleep. Being still, after working hard, is one of the best ways to strengthen our personal resilience in many areas of our life. Any big effort that is followed by stillness and reflection increases our ability to embody the lessons that life brings, so that in future moments, our ability to meet resistance grows.

Winter 2011 ~ Bringing Yoga To You!

Turtle Toes Yoga is offering a Winter Special !!! Buy one private yoga class and get one free. Limited time offer, expires March 2011. Private classes range from 1-2 hours, sliding scale from $20-$60 per hour. Treat yourself to luxurious sessions of stretching, breathing and the personal attention of a compassionate and motivating instructor. Experience having your own personal practice. I know you'll LOVE it :~)

Interested in bringing a yoga class to your friends and family? Have a den in your basement or community room in your building? Look no further. If the people can't come to the yoga class, we'll bring the yoga class to you. The more, the merrier! Classes start at $20 per person. For bookings of over 10 people, each person saves $5.

Stay tuned for an upcoming schedule of Turtle Toes Yoga Classes, offering a variety of styles, including restorative, vinyasa flow, hatha level 1 & 11, kids yoga and much more!

In the meantime, remember ... Taking care of you is taking care of me. Taking care of me is taking care of you :~)

Namaste !

For more information please send an email to: turtle.toes@yahoo.ca