The Ultimate Skill
"The privelege of a lifetime is being who you are."
- Joseph Campbell, as seen on the back of the T-shirt worn by a fellow yoga practitioner
Today I returned to the yoga studio today, to practice under the same instructor that I spoke of in the last blog. For those who are new to the blog community, she is the one who encouraged the class to being willing to fall down while practicing inversions. I had overcome my fear of falling last class and wanted to revisit inversions while my yogic fires were still stoked. So the class gets going, we go through the same sequence as last class, eventually progressing to inversions.
I am ready to for this moment. The space in front of me is wide open. I am ready to fall on my ass in the name of progress. So, I position myself, push off, get some hang time, and produce such a fall that half the class is waiting to see if I will get up. If this had happened last class I would have rolled up my mat and left the class. This time--for whatever reason--I laughed and smiled. Next time up, I nail the inversion I hold the pose for 10 breaths. HUGE! This is the first time I have ever held an inversion.
After the class I was thinking about what I had accomplished. What is the point of being able to hold an inversion for 5 or 10 breaths? What good does it do if someone can hold parivrtta trikonasana with perfect alignment? Sadly, the answer is nothing. Yoga is a metaphor for life. The lessons one learns on the mat have very little to do with being able to turn your body in a pretzel. In the words of Rabbi Max Cohen, "I will have failed as a human being if my tombstone reads, 'Max Cohen was very flexible.' " The purpose of yoga as I understand it is this: To learn how to address and work through challenges.
Yoga is so challenging that nobody in the world will ever be able to master it. That is why it is referred to as a practice. The same is true of life. There will always be challenges in life. Nothing will ever be perfect, you will never know everything. But that's okay. There would be no great achievements in life if there weren't great challenges. If I didn't struggle with inversion, I would never have that great thrill once I was able to hold an inversion. These are the things that I will focus on this week.
- Joseph Campbell, as seen on the back of the T-shirt worn by a fellow yoga practitioner
Today I returned to the yoga studio today, to practice under the same instructor that I spoke of in the last blog. For those who are new to the blog community, she is the one who encouraged the class to being willing to fall down while practicing inversions. I had overcome my fear of falling last class and wanted to revisit inversions while my yogic fires were still stoked. So the class gets going, we go through the same sequence as last class, eventually progressing to inversions.
I am ready to for this moment. The space in front of me is wide open. I am ready to fall on my ass in the name of progress. So, I position myself, push off, get some hang time, and produce such a fall that half the class is waiting to see if I will get up. If this had happened last class I would have rolled up my mat and left the class. This time--for whatever reason--I laughed and smiled. Next time up, I nail the inversion I hold the pose for 10 breaths. HUGE! This is the first time I have ever held an inversion.
After the class I was thinking about what I had accomplished. What is the point of being able to hold an inversion for 5 or 10 breaths? What good does it do if someone can hold parivrtta trikonasana with perfect alignment? Sadly, the answer is nothing. Yoga is a metaphor for life. The lessons one learns on the mat have very little to do with being able to turn your body in a pretzel. In the words of Rabbi Max Cohen, "I will have failed as a human being if my tombstone reads, 'Max Cohen was very flexible.' " The purpose of yoga as I understand it is this: To learn how to address and work through challenges.
Yoga is so challenging that nobody in the world will ever be able to master it. That is why it is referred to as a practice. The same is true of life. There will always be challenges in life. Nothing will ever be perfect, you will never know everything. But that's okay. There would be no great achievements in life if there weren't great challenges. If I didn't struggle with inversion, I would never have that great thrill once I was able to hold an inversion. These are the things that I will focus on this week.
posted by Zen_Accountant at 10:55 PM
5 Comments:
I am not very flexible. I guess that makes me worse than a failing human being.
I am not very flexible. I guess that makes me worse than a failing human being.
I will have achieved my ultimate success as a human being if my tombstone reads, "He always left a place better than he found it."
MAD
When I read your entries and sense your angst, I remember how hard the
twentyish years can be. And I feel
very happy to be 50. But, you can't
get to a happy older age until you go
through the process of finding yourself. My advice would be to
lighten up a little. You are SOOO
analytical and cerebral--try something
less mental--I suggest dancing. Go
to a club, have a few drinks, and just
dance crazy.
Dear Aunt Shelly,
I agree that fun is probably one of the most important pursuits in life. Believe you me, some of the most fun times I've had were while I was out with this blog's author. There is a time and place for fun, and a time and place for introspection. This is his place for introspection, and I love it.
(Plus, you don't want to see him dancing! :-)
MAD
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