It’s the Championship

As a self-defined life-learner and yogi, I’ve been thinking about how often we “practice” things throughout our lives. I used to practice for soccer matches with my team, practice singing for choir recitals, and practice scales to learn piano. These days, I “practice” yoga and meditation daily.

But what am I practicing for?

There is no Yoga Recital where I showcase my newest down-dog split; no panel of judges to affirm my progress in breathing methods.

At first, I was inclined to go for the cliche: “Yoga is practice for life!” You go to class, learn how to breathe, how to work through challenging and uncomfortable situations, then you go apply those to your real life. If yoga is the practice, Life, in this scenario, is the Championship.

Recently I’ve made a conscious discovery — Yoga is not the practice.

Practice is the Championship.

I am already there. Every breath, every challenge, every off-balance waver, is the moment that I’m preparing for. Right now.

With this new lens, the new question I am asking myself is:

“How can we apply this lens to everyday life?”

Instead of segmenting life into steps with relative importance: (1) planning and preparing; (2) executing; (3) winning the Championship…. How can we recognize that we’re already in the Championship? Our moment is now.

If this jives with you, I invite you to join me in adopting this new mindset, after all — It’s the championship!