- don't compare yourself. This probably comes as a given (as are most important, basic lessons in life), but whenever I'm in a group class, I always find myself comparing myself to other people or trying to get the moves *better* than someone else. In yoga, on of the teachers always starts off by saying that yoga is not a practice about ego, but rather about listening to how your body is that day and not worrying about whether you are doing it right or if everyone is getting the "tree pose" except for you.
-right now, you are perfect. When I was taking a class in Minnesota with my childhood friend Liz, the instructor told us to believe, for the next hour, that we are perfect. As soon as she said this, I got all "theology" on that statement and kept thinking about how we are all fallen, how we are far from perfect, how I'm far from perfect, etc. Then, as I was thinking about how much I disagreed with this statement, she said "don't try to analyze this thought, or question it." In that moment, I really was perfect, simply because I wasn't nit-picking things that were wrong with me, I was just loving myself.
-leave everything behind when you get on the mat. This hour is all about you, and you get to leave the world behind for a little bit and stop the freakin' broken record in your head of doubts, to-do lists, relationship drama, work drama, etc. and just concentrate on you. Although in principle it is not hard for me to indulge in myself, it is very hard to stop my worries, my anxieties and my thoughts about the day. My mat is the place where my mind stops analyzing...even if just for a moment.
-your breath is the most important thing, it is the center of life. For someone who finds myself not breathing deeply enough when I get anxious (most people don't know how to breathe through their diaphragms, and when we get nervous our breath naturally gets really short and "heady"), being reminded in yoga to breathe intentionally is the best thing for my daily life. I really loved it when my instructor said that when we find ourselves thinking about other things or worrying, to breathe so loud that it drowns out that little voice. At first I thought it sounded really funny when the people next to me where breathing so loud that it whistled, but it really does feel good. Good air in, bad air out.
-As you exhale, let go of anything that you need to let go of. Let go of anything that is weighing you down. This is perhaps the greatest lesson (again, really simple duh I know this stuff but don't live it) that I have learned from my yoga classes. Anything that isn't lifting me higher, that is literally bringing me down in my life, needs to be released with every exhale. I have believed for a very, very long time that to love someone means to love them even when they treat you badly, and that Jesus loved us even we we turn our backs on him so why shouldn't we do the same. The problem with this type of belief is that I have never been able to let go of things (mainly people) who, for the most part, just make me worry, make me feel bad about myself, and make me unhappy. I justify it by saying that love isn't about always expecting reciprocal feelings in return, it is not a give and take economic exchange that is always equal...it's just love, no matter what. But there is a problem in always loving people who just give back negativity in return, or make you feel weighed down, even if unintentionally. I need to let go. It's not because I haven't loved enough or in the way that they want me to, it's just because they are weighing me down, and I am better than that. I need to learn to love myself.
Namaste. The divine light in me recognizes the divine light in you. Or, as my friend Maggie translates it, "have a good day." ;-)
