A Less Serious Yoga Practice

I started practicing yoga in the beginning of 2000. When I first discovered Yoga Oasis, a hot yoga studio in Woodbury, New York, I was immediately hooked.

Feeling young and flexible, it was not hard to get wrapped up in what I thought yoga should look like. I dreamed of contorting my body into those beautiful asanas seen in glossy posters at the studio. The yogis looked wise, poised, and strong, like ballerina dancers with the wisdom of the Buddha.

Life pulled me away from the practice for several years. I wanted badly to reconnect to my inner yogi after having our children. But practicing yoga as a teenager or a twenty-something is very different from practicing with a house of 3 kiddos under 5.

Needless to say, getting back into yoga was no easy task.

I used to beg for quiet in the house, so I could concentrate and push myself to “achieve something” in my yoga practice. One day I wanted to work on headstands. Another day, I vowed to make it through an extended lotus pose. Other days, I wanted to lie on my back for ten minutes and breathe, feet firmly planted, eyes closed.

“Please,” I would shout from my bedroom, “Please, just give Mommy 10 minutes of quiet so I can do a little yoga.”

It’s not easy when the kids are small. Then, it’s not so easy as they get bigger. Nowadays, although the children can amuse themselves, they remain LOUD at all times unless there is a movie playing.

My growing frustration in the transformation of my practice carried from the mat right into the real world. If my yoga time didn’t work out, I was miserable and even more frustrated.

What was the use of trying to have a yoga practice when it couldn’t be what I needed?

Yoga has a funny way of helping one realize unexpected solutions. I slowly started to realize that if I wanted to feel less frustrated, I must turn inward.

Now, a HUGE part of my practice is letting go.

Expectations, desires, attitudes, you name it. I have to let them all go. I also let go of the need to always push harder. I don’t need to make my body look like something it won’t. I don’t even need to be quiet for the duration of my practice.

I can practice yoga with a casual heart. A calmer breath. A softer gaze.

Now, I see that quiet and peace come from within. I can breathe, pose, and reset, no matter the surrounding chaos. It’s HARD to do, but that’s what this practice is all about. It’s not about pushing, pushing, and pushing to get better. It’s about doing something difficult and remaining calm.

It’s about laughing my way through the practice, enjoying the presence of my children, and learning from them.

I practice yoga because I love it. But my view of it has changed.

Yoga is still hard!

But it’s looser, somehow, which was the key all along, wasn’t it? We push and stretch and maybe even strain so we can become the opposite: looser.

These unusual and fabulous dichotomies bring peace on my heart.

What brought you peace this week? Share the peace!