As I mentioned in a previous post, I joined a yoga studio this summer. Pre-Covid lockdowns, I was a member at our local Y where I took a weekly early morning yoga class. During the lockdown, my husband and I created a small home gym which, with YouTube, seemed to do the trick for most of my exercise needs. But when it came to yoga, I found myself always choosing the shortest, or the easiest yoga videos – I’d fast forward or come up with some excuse to not do the difficult parts. This, in addition to wanting to better understand yoga and find more community within the yoga world, led me to seek out an actual yoga studio, as opposed to a gym that offers yoga.
As expected, over the past 3 months, I have stretched my body in all sorts of ways. What I wasn’t expecting was mental and emotional stretching I gained from the “off the mat yoga” lessons that the various teachers would incorporate throughout class. If you aren’t familiar, off the mat yoga is about implementing the philosophy and teachings of yoga into your everyday life, not just during the 60-minutes you are actively stretching and exercising. I’ve been keeping a log of these amazing points of wisdom as I try to incorporate them into my day.
Yoga Means Unite: Did you know that the word yoga means to unite, or to yoke / join? Many of my teachers say this at the beginning of class as we’re settling into our first pose. It’s an act of uniting our mind, our spirit, and our body – no small task. What shifts for me when all three are united? How do I treat my body, or my mind, or my spirit differently when I remember they are connected? Thinking of it in broader terms, how do I live in a way of unity throughout my day? Often people ask me if I’m a life coach or an executive coach. My answer is “yes”. We aren’t two different people – the work person and the “home” person – but we often act as if we are. When one area of our life is off, how does that affect the other areas? A bad night’s sleep after a frustrating evening at home rubs off on your ability to be successful in the workday. Getting overlooked for a promotion at work impacts how you talk to your family at the dinner table that night. In big and small ways, our “lives” are constantly connected. We are one united person, with many parts and when one part is out of alignment, all parts are out of alignment. When we are living united with all our parts, we find life to be easier, lighter, more fulfilling. We find more joy!
Yogi’s Choice: This is commonly said throughout class as a teacher demonstrates one pose, and then several variations on it. I love the empowerment and the flexibility of this phrase. I get to choose which version of the pose works best for me – and I get to choose again at the next class, and maybe change it up. Maybe today my left side needs more nurturing, but my right side is ready for a challenge. Maybe my whole body needs a slower pace. I used to just do the poses as the teacher demonstrated – as she went into a deeper or more demanding pose, I would try the same. And there’s nothing wrong with trying the new, harder things, but is it right for me at this moment? This leads me to another phrase one of my teachers frequently says: if you are asking “am I doing this right” the answer is “does it feel right to you”. Constantly assessing “does this feel right to me” gives me a moment to stop, think, and make my own decisions, to try the things that feel right to me, when they feel right to me. In life, how often do we pause and ask ourselves “does this feel right to me?”, or are we on autopilot, doing the next thing without thinking? What’s possible when we pause, breathe, think, assess, and decide? Life doesn’t slow down, but you can take a moment to figure out what speed you need to be at in this moment. Often, we think we’ll stop “when”…when my new boss settles in, when the school year starts, when my spouse is home more. “When” may or may not happen. Finding the time now gives you the space to think and choose, regardless of “when”. What doesn’t feel right in your life right now? It could be a relationship, a habit, a project at work, how you show up in your community. Why doesn’t it feel right? Is it because it’s not the right fit for right now or is it because you need to push yourself right now? You are the yogi of your life, what do you choose to do when something doesn’t feel right?
Take Up Space: This is one of my all-time favorite phrases – TAKE UP SPACE!!! In yoga, this is used as a reminder to stretch to our fullest. Reach for the stars while digging into the earth, spread each toe and finger, extend your energy beyond your body. Try it! Stand up in the middle of the workday and stretch your arms up and legs wide, like a human X – then keep stretching – try to reach the ceiling with your fingers, pretend there’s a string at the top of your head lifting it further from your shoulders! How refreshing is that? So many times, and so many ways, we, and especially women, make ourselves small, physically, emotionally, and mentally. We don’t need things, we can do without, we can wait, we are fine. It’s the emotional equivalent of putting Baby in the corner. But, when we take up space, we own our place at the table, we take bold actions, we engage with life. Taking up space doesn’t take away space from others, it’s living your life more fully, it’s putting your needs before the needs of others – so that you have the energy to take care of others. When I’m in that human X pose, I feel a sense of limitlessness, I can take on the world! But when I make myself small, I feel the heaviness of the world. Maybe we aren’t always in the mood to take on the world, and that’s ok too, because, as the yogi of your life, you get to choose!
What off the mat yoga lesson resonates most with you? Where do you feel out of alignment and what’s one step you can take towards unity?
Inquiry: Where do you want to take up more space?
