Welcome to the blog, y’all! It’s been a minute (or six years) since I took the time to write down some thoughts about who-knows-what, but here we are again. Yes, blogs are giving some heavy early-2000s energy, but they are kind of the original social media posts, right? Simply a way to share a perspective and start a discussion about topics we can relate to.
Let’s start in the Mysore room, since our common interest in Ashtanga yoga is probably what brought you here in the first place, plus an incident from yesterday is top of mind and has my wheels turning. As I oversee the Mysore room on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, an overarching theme is “Try. Try again. Try again. Fail.” It’s just the nature of this practice. It would be lovely if we could skip around and do the things that we like or are good at, but then it wouldn’t be Ashtanga. Plus, if we were all already good at this stuff, we’d start a circus and take this show on the road! But in the days, weeks, months, and even years of practice that we try and try and try and fail, there are those rare but glorious occasions when the planets align, and we overcome! Success is ours! Whether it’s nailing the allusive jump through, catching that difficult bind, or dropping into a backbend and standing up, these moments are worth celebrating. Or are they?
There are two perspectives on this. First, don’t get too excited. As any seasoned practitioner knows, these things come and go – jump throughs, binds, drop backs – they can leave as quickly as they arrive, so being overly enthusiastic about your achievement can leave you more deflated once the newness wears off. Plus, isn’t non-attachment one of the basic pillars of yoga that we all should have learned before we even stepped on a mat? On the other hand, isn’t yoga about being present? And isn’t it true that often the reason our accomplishments are so satisfying is because of all the hard work, sacrifice, and struggle that led to it? What’s the harm in celebrating that? And isn’t it also true that we can be excited and proud without being attached? As in, we’re excited when it happens, but don’t sob uncontrollably and throw things when it doesn’t.
If you practice long enough, you know all the above to be true, and to be honest, it doesn’t matter which camp you fall into. This practice is personal, and everyone is going to glean something different from their experience. The most important thing is that whatever motivates you to come back, whether it’s the challenge of trying and failing but staying cool under the pressure, or the elation of finally accomplishing something challenging, staying on the path is where the real benefit lies. And more importantly, we can’t invalidate or shame anyone else’s process. So, if you prefer to analyze silently, or celebrate loudly, do you. This community will be here for you either way.
Thanks for taking the time to one gal’s random thoughts on something so many of us experience regularly. So, what’s your take? Have you ever thought about it? Do you think any of this even matters? Did anything I say change your perspective or make you think about your own process? Tell me what you think!