You Don't Learn Yoga

Several months ago when our self-isolation began, I read an article about what people were hoping to accomplish during this time. 

Of course there were the goals you expected to hear, clean out the extra room, finish a painting project that you started years ago. But the one that got to me, and has taken me this long to write about, was the person who said that she wanted to learn yoga.

 

Learn yoga? Gasp. I'll tell you that my reaction was one of shock, even dismay. Yoga is so much more.

 

 So let me share with you what yoga means to me and maybe these words will somehow reach the young woman in the article.

Yoga is life. It will be with you during the hours of the night when you can't sleep, it will help you to listen to your breath, in and out slowly, better than counting sheep. It will be with you, teaching you to be flexible when someone rushes ahead of you in the parking lot. Yoga will comfort you on the mat when the tears called fear escape. Yoga cannot be contained.

You don't learn yoga, you practice yoga. Every moment, every day.

Poses are not accomplished, there is always another pose waiting to show you your limits. Flexibility is never reached, we always need to bend to circumstances beyond our control. 

Breath is not just breathing. It is peace, it is comfort, it is the juice used to teach us. (Tweet This)

Yoga is about ignoring the person who doesn't stop talking, and the person who always arrives late to a class, any class. Yoga is about finding the teacher you need at the right time, the one that teaches you about strength, and also the one that inspires stillness. 

It is about knowing and keeping close the friends who will fill your heart, the boss to keep away from, the person whom you've outgrown. 

Yoga is about growing to be who you are in each new day.

It is not about learning, it is about practicing.

Practicing when you are tired and have one more thing to get done for your child. Practicing when you are impatient because you have errands to run and an elderly neighbour wants to chat. Practicing when you see the poor choices made around you but have to let someone learn on their own. Yoga is about practicing to forgive, practicing to love, practicing life.

You don't learn yoga, ever, you practice it, just like you practice life. (Tweet This)

 

Stay well, stay kind.

 

Moving Pieces

How do you feel when you are starting a new project? You think you have everything in front of you, but often because you are just starting, you are overwhelmed and it feels like it won't work out. You convince yourself to wait. The Moving Pieces are a mystery.

Once we get going, we discover that we don't have the password, or are missing a part (it could even be an ingredient). Sometimes we need a new connecting piece and have to get in the car and head to Staples or Michaels or the hardware store.

The very act of stopping can throw us off-kilter. It's hard to get our momentum back, maybe we'll just do it tomorrow instead, there are more urgent things to get done, maybe we'll just watch one more YouTube to be sure we've got it right. Maybe we'll sit on our sofa and climb under a blanket.

Moving Pieces though belong together. The pieces may lay in our cupboards, our counters our hide-away places. If we're stubborn enough, we can leave them there for years!

But eventually...


We decide to gather all the parts together, we research what needs to be done, we ask our favourite expert (an uncle, google or a book we've hidden away) for help. Rarely does it come together on a first try, and often our efforts need more practise.


These pieces of mine have been floating in my head for a long time. I pretended that the Moving Pieces could lie dormant and maybe I would do different projects entirely. Because this one scared me! (There are so many ways we can fool ourselves.) 

and then I questioned myself.

What a crazy idea.
I'm not creative enough.
I can't do this.
What if..it's a disaster, stupid, ugly.
What if I fail?

But these Moving Pieces intrigued me, they called to me, they wanted to be put together. (Tweet This)

So here they are.

My first attempt at a painting I did some years ago.

and all my Moving Pieces.

Let's see what they can do together!

We all have ideas that we've put aside. Tell me about your experience with Moving Pieces. (Tweet This)