What can we learn from balancing poses on our yoga mat, when we are holding airplane pose and we're wobbling and unstable? What is the lesson?
As you stand on one tired leg in balance poses, what are you practicing? Are you practicing patience, setting aside frustration when you fall out and getting back in the pose without drama or fuss? Do you give up, criticize or judge? Or do you accept the wobbly, shaky version of the pose, and when you feel unstable, do you flow with it, shake it off and move on?
What about off your yoga mat? Life can be uncertain, and we can feel off balance and unstable. Sometimes the easy answer is to quit or give up, feel defeated or deflated. Sometimes we’re impatient and want quick resolve. We might become quick to criticize or judge or become frustrated and agitated. Does any of this sound familiar?
We’ve all been there, both on and off our mats, and I’m there now. Somehow, I managed to break my foot the day we left on our 16-day European vacation. I didn’t know it was broken, though it hurt terribly and worsened with each day. A week into our cruise, I was misdiagnosed by the ship’s doctor with severe extensor tendonitis. Despite the prescriptions I was given, along with wrapping, elevating and icing, there was no improvement. I was in agony the entire trip and still walked 60 miles on what we later realized was a broken foot. X-rays after our return home revealed a “significant” fracture, and I’ve been wearing a boot and non-weight bearing since. It has been a struggle to adapt to this level of immobility, being reliant on others, and having to cancel plans, classes and events. I’m stubbornly independent, active and energetic, so this little setback has been a huge adjustment!
The lesson here is instability can be a powerful teacher. When life happens and we become off balance, disoriented, and disconnected from our center, we have a choice about how we show up and what we practice. (Remember, what we practice we get good at.) These times of instability are opportunities to learn and grow, IF we drop the drama and embrace what yoga teaches us, to re-center, re-connect and begin again.
We are going to get a little shaky and wobbly, not just on our yoga mat, but in life. Don't be too quick to give up or too quick to find resolve…give yourself some GRACE, to be willing to stay in the mess, to stay in the uncertainty, and find your power within by choosing what you practice. That's where we start to see the relevance and magic of yoga and how it affects us off our mat.
Once I allowed myself some grace, I was able to adjust my attitude, cultivate more patience and acceptance, and let go of frustration. Now from this space, I can better flow and move through my healing more aligned with my way of being, how I want to show up for myself and for others.
Namaste,
MaryBeth