Will and Grace
I recently had the opportunity to attend a class taught by an SEO friend’s mother, Myriam. A class, that I might add, I have been meaning to get to for ages and I couldn’t be happier that I finally did. Since attending her class a couple of weeks ago I have been back many times and vowed to add her to my ever-expanding list of regular must-see teachers (I’ve become a bit of studio hopper, pretty consistently attending about 3 different studios a week by my last count). As Myriam says, her favorite of all the Anusara principles is muscular energy and moments into the class you are reminded of it! Despite her sweet demeanor and small (yet muscular) physique she is a really tough teacher. In her class I am constantly being pushed to my limits, the best part is that thanks to her great sense of humor I have a smile on my face the whole time (ok, maybe not the whole time, but most of it anyway).
In that first 90-minute class we played with the idea of letting go of our desire to control our body and ourselves in the poses and, instead, simply allowing ourselves to ‘be’. Throughout class I was reminded of the difficulty I sometimes have establishing intentions before many of my yoga classes. I think this is a good example of how not all things can be both controlled and truly experienced. In the case of setting intentions it seems that the more I try to will an intention into my practice the more detached from my practice I become. If I hold on to the need to will that intention then the purpose is defeated. I find that in the end, that desire for control takes me away from the authentic experience I seek in my practice.
There are so many examples in our daily lives that illustrate our need to control situations. Control, that ultimately, prevents us from feeling all that the experience has to offer. Many times this control (and wanting something too much) also prevents us from getting the thing that we really need. Sometimes what we need is not to want it more but to let it happen, give into grace and let the universe take control. For me, the principle of “Open to Grace” is about trusting that the universe will give you what you seek but only when the time is right. All you can do is prepare yourself to receive it at that time. In doing so we are setting ourselves up for the best possible life experience. So much of the human experience is about dealing with what life throws at us. So the question then becomes, are you going to be one of the people that accepts even the worst situations as opportunities to grow, or are you going to hold on to control, controlling that which cannot be controlled and failing to experience it at all?
I have a friend that has been desperately trying to sell his house for months. About a week ago he experienced a dramatic change in his situation, a change that brought him to a place where selling the house was not such a pressing concern. Within the week, there was a buyer and the house was sold. It doesn’t always have to be so philosophical though, I find similar examples of this balance of will and grace in my physical practice. For instance, last Saturday we did (or in my case, attempted) drop backs. If you have ever tried to do a drop back (i.e. standing backbend) you know that it cannot be forced. Forcing such a pose results in a crash landing and a potentially serious injury. When the time is right and your attitude, alignment and actions become one you will find yourself in the pose. In tantric philosophy it is said that, “Everything that we need in order to be complete is within us right at this very moment.” It is simply a matter of being able to recognize it and allow for it to happen.
In fact, for me, this blog post has been a lesson in letting go. It has taken me a week to get all of this out of my head, it just wasn’t coming out right so I had to give it time to flow out of me. So after much aimless writing I now feel like I have been able to articulate my thoughts. I tend to do my clearest thinking while in class or just before I drift to sleep (yoga really gets my mind going, I think that’s my favorite part). So to help better organize my thoughts, I just bought a notebook that I plan to keep at my bedside in addition to taking to class with me. That’s right, I’ll be the weirdo taking notes between poses and journaling in the back of the room after class.
Tags: Anusara principles, Open to Grace
