A Little Bit of Something...

I've been taking acting classes for a while now, and my wonderful teacher, who is also a life coach, has offered us several sage phrases that I have found to be relevant to my life as a whole. One that came up for me this week is, "The difference between doing a little bit of something and doing nothing is everything." In acting, it's about preparing for a scene, but I find it to be true in Yoga practice as well. As a teacher (and I know this is true for many students as well), I am often torn between practicing what feels right for me in the moment and what I think I "should" be practicing. As such, there is often a temptation to postpone practicing at all till I have enough time to do it "right." This is especially true before my early morning classes, where I rarely have the time to devote to a long practice. But I noticed recently that even a few minutes of conscious breathing and movement before class makes me many times more effective as a teacher. It helps me tune in and connect to my deeper self, and coming from that place I connect more authentically to my students. So it really is true, as I have often taught, that practicing even a few minutes a day can be more effective than two hours once or twice a week. Try it for yourself and see what happens.

No Courage Without Fear

At the most basic level, Yoga is all about energy -- it's about allowing energy to flow freely within us and around us, while recognizing that there is an anchor to which we can connect that will enable us to feel safe no matter how intense the energy gets. In Yoga,the "union" with the source is the anchor. As we practice removing blockages to the steady flow of energy, that union is a source of courage because, let's face it, that energy can get pretty intense. I'm not just talking about holding a difficult pose or attempting a handstand in the middle of the room, though those metaphors are real and very rich opportunities to viscerally counter fear with courage. Far more difficult can be letting yourself feel the depth of your grief, your anger, even your creativity -- the real authentic movement of energy through you. Most of us learn to "manage" this energy in many ways -- through habitual thoughts, behavior, unconscious conditioning and addiction. For those of us who have learned such control, surrendering to the energy and having faith is the most frightening challenge of all. As we come face to face with our fear -- which we will do, over and over -- we would do well to remind ourselves that there can be no courage without fear. Your most terrifying times, those which might make you feel small, vulnerable, somehow "less" than you wish to be, also offer the opportunities for your utmost courage. Embrace them. The anchor is there.