I have been to more yoga classes in the past 26 days than my life and am feeling awesome!!! Yoga has almost become an essential practice as it’s a time to focus, concentrate on proper breathing, and calm the mind from racing thoughts.
It has been interesting to experience many different types of yoga and instructors. Each instructor has their own style of teaching and poses. It keeps it interesting and I have learned something from each one.
An important lesson has been acceptance, as their are certain instructor styles that I currently don’t resonate with and that’s okay. Everyone has their own tastes and styles of learning, the key is to identify what works and seek more. The other part has been to attend a class that doesn’t resonate with me and pay attention for positive experiences that come from the class. This has been important as each class has value and a lesson as long as I’m willing to receive it. By entering with the mindset that I’m forcing myself to be there, I create a barrier to learning anything new as my ego wants to be right and if I learn something my ego is wrong and who would want that?
One of the most powerful lessons I have learned was read during a Vinyasa Power Flow by our instructor Reno. I don’t remember where it was from, but the principle was to not muscle through life and flow with the movement, focusing on accepting the process. This was one of my first classes and it hit me hard as I reflected on how I would try to force situations to work out how I planned, does this happen to you?
By accepting what happens and flowing with it, the fear and anxiety is reduced by understanding that not many things can be controlled. We have little control over what happens, their are too many variables, so plans are a great outline, but accepting that every step will likely not go as planned is liberating in itself. Regardless of what happens, the important question is “how will I adapt?” That’s all that matters as this is the answer that will move me forward, all other questions will keep me stuck.
Whatever happens, I will adapt to and focus on what I have direct control over, my effort, determination, and what I enjoy doing. How can you remove your expectation of an outcome and adapt to a situation you are currently struggling with?