Change – Adapting through Yoga
There is a cute Zen story that goes: “A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!" It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly. A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!' "It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly.”
Knowing that everything in life is temporary is a bold statement. Living that way is even harder. We grow up changing schools, friends, sometimes homes, sometimes parents. As adults we change jobs, relationships, styles of music. Just because this is a fact of life, there are no guidelines on how to deal with it and come out feeling ok.
Yoga offers the opportunity to be ok, learn and grow from our changes. When we come to our mat to practice, each breath will be unique, each posture different from the last time we practiced, each thought presented in a different perspective. When we sit and meditate, understand that the fluctuations of the mind will adapt and change the meditation, the sitting may be comfortable or challenging, the stillness different each time.
Taking these insights into our daily lives, we unveil the impermanence of our existence and begin to realize how perfect each moment is; how unique and special our circumstances are. I have a dear friend who looks at life like this, “You GET to go through it”. It’s a blessing to be here, making the most of who we are. Take the opportunities, disappointments and challenges by the horns and meet them head on. Learn from them and then let go of them.
Eckhart Tolle professes in his book “The Power of Now” that even when we are in the midst of deep sorrow, guilt or pain, if we can focus on the “Now”, we begin to realize that the “Now” isn’t so bad. Recently going through some personal relationship changes, I became very depressed. However, when I stopped long enough to say, “Wait a minute, what’s going on right now? I’m sitting in my backyard, petting my dog, watching the sunset and I feel pretty good physically. My relationship might be changing but there’s more to me than just my relationship. This little insight helped me to be “ok” in the moment and accept the unhappy parts with a better perspective.
Next time you are faced with a change in your life, accept it for what it is, realize that it is not permanent and that there is a life lesson to learn from it. Best of all; know that “It will pass”.