All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Yoga

Yoga is an incredibly commercialized commodity; with the $20 classes, and the extensive prop list, and the celebrity endorsements...but yoga is WAY more than a commodity. Yoga, in its essence, is a practice that integrates the entire body, from the inner to the outer. And lately I've been noticing that the things I've learned in yoga are starting to creep into my "everyday" life.

1. Create Intention
Before stepping into a pose in yoga, you're taught to create intention, to engage your muscles in order to increase your awareness, and to be mindful of how your body is connected. AND every yoga studio will tell you how important it is to get to class early so that you can be calm and centered before you begin. I once heard an instructor say, "When you find your mind chattering away, strive to focus your intention and direct your mind on something specific, like a person, or an ambition, or something you want to change in the world." I often find that when I take a few moments in the morning to think about what I want my day to look like, I have a much more productive and optimistic day. And when I find my mind chattering away, I try to take a second to concentrate on something specific and when I do, I always find a renewed sense of intention.

2. Relax
When you find difficulty with a pose, they tell you to relax. And then I get more distressed, because I'm a perfectionist and in my stubborn way of thinking, the solution to working through a difficult situation is to try harder...and then I relax, often by accident, and all difficulty melts away, every muscle reclines into itself and you sink into your breathing and it feels like you could hold the pose forever. I am constantly shocked at how productive relaxation can be. How the simple act of breathing and allowing your muscles to unwind for a moment makes a seemingly impossible task seem completely possible.

3. Take Responsibility
The one thing about yoga is that it is very individualistic. The results of yoga might extend outward, but the practice itself is quite egotistical. Instructors offer inspirational words and friends offer encouragement, but ultimately, your yoga practice is about you. YOU carve out the time to go to class, YOU make the commitment to be mindful of your body for that hour, YOU take responsibility. I don't want my life to be one big egotistical party, but that doesn't mean that I can toss aside the responsibilities I have to myself. I have inspirational and supportive people in my life, but at the end of day, I want to hold myself accountable for my own life.

4. Be Kind to Yourself
One of the first things most yoga instructors will tell a beginning student (or an advanced one) is to be kind to yourself when practicing yoga. Yoga isn't a competitive sport, so you can move as slowly or as aggressively as your body allows. In my experience, when I'm more aggressive in class and I know that my body isn't ready for that aggressive nature, class will be a constant struggle, whereas when I'm kind to myself and I listen to my body and I respond in turn, I have a pleasant, enlightened experience and my next class is that much easier. It's like those Chinese finger handcuffs; the more you struggle the tighter they get, but when you stop trying so hard your hands are instantly free. Offering ourselves compassion seems simple and passive, but in reality, it very well might be the key to setting yourself free.

5. Keep Smiling
I have this yoga DVD, mostly for when I'm too lazy to get up and go to class, and in this DVD the instructor is always telling you to smile. At first I thought it was a little ridiculous, but one day I was struggling with a pose and then somehow that made me think of something funny and I laughed and then, instantaneously, I wasn't struggling anymore. People say that when you extend a smile to someone else, especially a stranger, that smile can make all the difference for them and I'm beginning to see that the same rings true when you smile for yourself. Mother Teresa said it best, "Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."