Yoga — Day Two

Today’s theme: SIMPLICITY

There is so much noise and activity around us all the time. Often settling into the simple pleasure of peace and quiet is actually more difficult than giving in to the noise of social media, politics, and Netflix. It can take great skill to be still while the crazy world moves around us. Likewise, it can take great skill to hold a yoga pose while the muscles shake and stretch.

KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle

Simple is nice. Simple is calm. Simple is the best way I can think of to face life’s challenges and enjoy life’s richness. But that doesn’t mean that simple is easy.

In yoga, “simple” can be fifteen minutes of child’s pose, cat/cow, mountain pose, and shavasana or it can be fifteen minutes of headstands, crow pose, and lotus.

My resolution this year is to keep my life simple in my own way. My goal for yoga is the same — keep it simple but meaningful to me. Sometimes this mean an extended child’s pose, sometimes it means several downward-facing dogs, and sometimes it means warrior I, warrior II, and chaturanga.

What it doesn’t mean is giving up or giving in to the temptation to skip a day of yoga.

As in yoga, so in life

This morning the yoga video I chose challenged me to balance on one leg at a time for several breaths. That may sound simple to some people but it was not simple for me. Instead of beating myself up because I wasn’t as perfect as the teacher, I simplified the pose in my own way by holding onto the wall. This adaptation still allowed me to enjoy the poses while feeling the benefits of balancing and stretching.

Everyday I try to keep my expectations simple. I’m going for the best I can do that day; I’m not going for absolute perfection.

In the end, yoga and life are both a mix of simple and complex.

Yoga is about breathing and posing and feeling good. Life is about happiness and sadness and love.