Make it Easy

Have you ever struggled with something only to have one of those lightbulb moments when you realize that you're making things more difficult than they need to be? Perhaps you're pulling instead of pushing or resisting rather than flowing or efforting when you should be easing. I have a tendency to make things more difficult. Just the other day I got that you're-making-this-too-hard-lightning bolt and it reminded me to ease up. Words from yogi Baron Baptiste come readily to mind (he said this during a workshop that I took with him years ago) -- "You can try hard or try easy." One of my favorite yogis, Eoin Finn, puts it a bit differently -- "Do without doing."

The tendency to do too much or making things complicated is often reflected in your yoga practice. When I first started slowing my yoga practice down (I mixed in some more awareness-based yoga into my practice), I noticed how much I pushed myself during my practice. Rarely did I rest in Child's Pose when my breathing was forced. I often gutted through my poses rather than breathe freely in them. Paying attention really helped me tune into some patterns that I had. Patterns that blocked my flow and generally made my life more work than it needed to be.

When I work with clients or teach stress reduction types of classes, I'll often bring peoples' attention to how hard -- or not -- they push with a few questions:

• Notice how you come into your pose -- do you go deep right away to a place of intense sensation or do you hang back and go into the pose in such a way that you hardly feel anything?
• What would happen if you started to play a bit -- if you notice that you hang back, try going a bit deeper and vice versa for anyone that goes deep into the pose. Play with your edges a bit and notice what happens when you make changes (whether it's pushing or backing off or finding middle ground).
• How would it feel to let the pose happen in you rather than "doing" the pose?
• Once you're in a pose, ask yourself -- how can I find more ease? What microadjustments can I make to make this pose feel better or more right for me? How can I alter my breathing so that my breath is working with me and supporting me in the poses?

Just yesterday I came into Warrior and I felt a pain in my shin area. This doesn't normally happen to me, so I backed way off. I played with the depth of the pose until I found some ease. I didn't always do this. In fact, I can remember many a time that I made my body do what I wanted it to do regardless of the feedback it was giving me. That is what you would call trying hard. Now I like to try easy.

I know that it's a bit in opposition with your go-do-conquer-be aggressive-get what's yours culture, but for me it feels right. The funny thing is -- trying easy hasn't negatively impacted my yoga practice. Backing off when I need to doesn't make me a "less than" yogi. Heck, I like to think it makes me a wise one. Now if only I could always remember this in life...

I'm trying. Trying easy, thank you very much.

Namaste!

Comments

[Diane Cesa]

Hi Sara!
What a great question -- and it's one that I feel passionate about. It's definitely not wrong to want to reach your potential. It's the pushing that I question. I'm not saying it's wrong -- I just look at it a bit differently. I'm going to speak from personal experience here -- I used to push myself in my workout regime (this was before I started practicing yoga regularly). Because of this, I thought I was making myself stronger. Unfortunately, it also resulted in my injuring myself quite a bit. One day I got out of bed -- in pain again -- and my whole body resisted the idea of working out. I has begun working out because I wanted to feel good, not bad. And there I was feeling bad. Building strength and/or flexibility is a great goal -- I just feel that pushing/forcing won't get you there. Think about when you come into a seated forward bend -- if your hamstrings are tight and you push beyond your comfort level because you think it'll help you gain flexibility the opposite happens. Your body's pain reflex kicks in and it actually tightens up the muscles. So instead of getting more flexible, you're getting tighter and you're risking injury. It's more of a gradual process in my mind. You go a little bit deeper every time -- but not to the point of pain. I'm not an advocate of the "no pain no gain" mentality. I think that pain signals that you've gone to far and that you need to STOP! It's the same with strength -- you can try to muscle your way through it, but isn't it safer and more effective to gradually build up your strength? I learned my lesson because I've been on both sides -- I've pushed myself and injured myself in the past. The funny thing is -- I'm so much stronger now that I've learned how to back off and listen to my body. I once practiced with a well-known teacher who told us that if our body is shaking then we should come out of the pose. She said that the shaking signals that we're working too hard. At the time I was blown away by those words. There is a lot of wisdom in them though. I've learned over the years how far to go and when it's time to back off. As a result of losing my push it mentality, I feel better and am stronger and more flexible than I've ever been. That's just my two cents. Thanks again for raising a great point -- I find that a lot of my clients often struggle with the same thing.

[Diane Cesa]

Hi Sydney!
Thank you for your comment and for reading my blog. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. What a great comment! That's great that you've rethought your yoga practice and have developed one that's more conscious. I find that most folks (I'm speaking for myself and I've had a lot of clients tell me the same) often get to a point where they realize that perhaps their practice isn't serving them. It's the "rubber meets the road" moment when you have to decide how you want to be in your yoga practice and ask yourself why you're practicing. Sounds like you had that moment. I don't know about you, but I love feeling like a true beginner again -- it's so fresh and full of possibility. Enjoy it!

[Sydney]

I have been reading your blog for a few months and I this post is an example of why I like it so much.

Late last fall I stressed my shoulder because I was pushing myself in my yoga practice, working harder with sun salutations than I was ready for. I didn't listen to my body until I was in real pain and *had* to stop. Since then I have really rethought my yoga practice. I'm working gently and slowly now, "trying easy" as Baron Baptiste said. I feel like a true beginner again, but now I have much more consciousness in my practice, and it is much more fulfilling.

[Sara - GetNaturallyFit]

I like the idea of not overdoing one's yoga practice. Do you think, though, that you can really reach your potential without pushing yourself? When I struggle to a hold a pose because my muscles are getting tired, I tend not to back off because I want them to strengthen and improve the next time I try it. Is this the wrong thinking?