5 Major Life Lessons I learned in the Yoga Studio
Lessons that help me grow in yoga, often help me grow in life. That's one reason I'm totally in love with the yoga practice. The yoga process is often one big metaphor for life, and thus an opportunity to grow and evolve mind body and spirit. Below are 5 major life lessons I've learned in the yoga studio:
You can't give 100% for 100% of the time. Yoga is a practice which means it's meant to be a part of your life forever. If you give 100% all the time, you're likely to burn out. Pacing yourself to make yoga a lifelong practice means putting forth a sustainable amount of energy. Same thing in life. You need rest, time to recharge. You can't give 100% of your energy all the time or you'll burn out. Make sure your pace is something you can maintain for the long haul in life and in the yoga studio.
- Discomfort is evidence you're changing your body. One class, a few years ago, a teacher announced this lesson mid posture. It's true. Discomfort in a posture is physical evidence you're changing your body. In life, discomfort is evidence you've been pushed out of your comfort zone, and thus, changing yourself. If you can look at discomfort in this way, your relationship to it might change. I now seek discomfort in life, because I know it's the path to personal growth.
Slow, deep breaths make everything better. Maintaining control of your breath is crucial in yoga. Deep breathing helps you go deeper, to tolerate the discomfort when you are in a strenuous posture, and supports the union between mind, body and spirit. Deep breathing helps in the same ways in life. Deep breathing is my secret weapon. I use it for grounding, calming, and when I need help getting through discomfort.
Some of the most important things in life are practices not destinations. Yoga is a practice not a goal you get to. Many of the important things in life are also practices: health, love, connection, happiness. These are all things that are meant to be practiced everyday, for the rest of our lives. Health is not a place you get to, but rather made up of everyday choices and behaviors. Love is not something you find and have forever, but rather something to be practiced everyday. Devote and dedicate yourself to these practices, as they are the keys to true happiness and fulfillment.
The point is not the result. We get so caught up in the results. In yoga, the focus becomes getting our bodies to contort into the perfect looking posture. Postures (asanas) aren't the point of yoga. Yoga is all about the union of mind and body, staying connected to your breath, being fully present, loving your body, breaking down mental and physical barriers. The postures are just one way for us to practice our yoga, they provide the opportunity for this union and transformation to happen. The point of yoga is the process, the how and why we do the postures. Same thing in life. We set goals and want to reach them, but the point is the process, the lessons we learn along the way, the personal growth that happens, the polishing and refining of our mind body and spirit as we live life.
These lessons have all been truly pivotal in the course of my life. I may not have found my way to them, had it not been for yoga. It is my hope, that they find their way to you and your heart as well.