Room for Improvement

We are taught that maintaining a daily practice may serve us as we navigate the ins and outs of daily life. You might think “this sounds all well and good” — yet question whether it is really true. Certainly, I notice the lack in ability to remain calm on the days where I am unable to spend some quality time on my mat for a morning practice. These are the days when I seem unreasonably demanding and impatient with others – namely those whom I love most. In contrast, on the days when I am afforded the luxury of working through the discomfort I feel each morning and settling into a peaceful easy breathing pattern the challenges of the day do not completely unsettle me.

There are tools, which at first seemed only to be symbolic of getting through life, which are now in my arsenal of tools to handle life’s stressors.

Some examples of how these tools are working include:

• The ability to maintain a slow and steady breath throughout my daily practice (no matter the intensity) trains me to find calmness amid the storm.
• A self-directed, daily practice, done at my own pace provides me with the ability to work and problem-solve independently – seeking guidance only when necessary.
• Each day, as I note the waxing and waning in my physical strength and flexibility, I come to appreciate the ups and downs occurring daily in these same attributes mentally and emotionally. There isn’t always a parallel between the physical and mental; it’s just the overall examination of the good day: bad day experience and how one helps provide you with a greater appreciation of the other.
• More than ever, I am grateful for the ability to overcome the discomfort that is ever-present each morning upon waking. Not all too long ago, I was often sidelined with back pain which was so overwhelming there was room for nothing else.

Then there are Moon Days and Ladies Holidays, when the Ashtanga tradition advises us to take rest from our daily asana practice and focus on the meditative side. To be honest, I have yet to embrace the complete rest. However, I am slowly learning how to be okay with simple a few cat-cows, a downdog-updog or two, some sort of spinal twist, sphinx pose, and happy baby or child’s pose.

This is all good, however, I have NOT yet been disciplined with is taking the time to just sit quietly in meditation. I guess, I should work on that.

Indeed, there is always room for improvement.