I have a bit of a bad habit. I look forward to the next thing so much that I miss out on what is going on right now. I do this when things are not stressful and overwhelming, let alone when life is hard. I know I am doing this right now. I am holding my breath until this COVID situation is better; until we don’t have to social distance anymore; until we can go to the grocery store and reasonably find the things we need for the week.
I used to go to a yoga class. I enjoy yoga class for the life lessons that somehow emerge, even if it sounds like it’s about the yoga pose. I wrote about this last year. It applies right now more than ever. In yoga, we often are so busy moving from one pose to the next, when it is better to move slowly through the transition, breathing as we go. If you have ever done yoga, you might be like me and prefer some poses over others. Some are hard, hard, hard. I just want the hard pose to be over and to move quickly to the next one for relief. Yoga is all about mindfulness, though. Breathe in the hard pose, noticing the sensations in your body. Then slowly (ahem, mindfully) transition to the next.
If, like me, you do like this pose we are in right now, but you are hopeful that the next one is coming up and are anticipating the transition and maybe even jumping toward the next pose……first of all, breathe. Notice the sensations. Notice with gentleness the struggle and challenge.
I texted a friend this week, saying, “If this thing ever ends….” She responded, “It will end. But it might feel like forever.” We will transition to the next pose, friends! Let’s refocus a bit, breathing in this here challenging yoga pose, and as we transition to the next one, mindfully breathe through to it.
If you are new here, you will have seen that I can go far with a metaphor. If that bugs you, enjoy the picture of baby ducks seen on a walk this week.
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