II believe a little change is good thing. Change is good because it challenges us and often helps us open up to new ways of thinking or processing old thoughts. But change happens often in small amounts like collecting loose coins, slowly the change accumulates to larger amounts.
As a yoga teacher I hear many first-time students say, “I’m here to become more flexible.” On their first day, they invariably watch the other students and compare themselves.They can easily be frustrated to see how some people seemingly float from one pose to another. After class I check in with them and I reassure them when I hear some say: “I’ll never be THAT flexible.”
Whatever THAT flexible is, I assure them of one very important reality: “You are already showing your flexibility by coming to the mat, by trying something new. It may seem small but it is real change.”
I did not learn to swim until I was 40. While I watched the Master Swimmers lap me again and again, I was so proud when six laps turned into a dozen which turned into two dozen until one day I was swimming a mile and still able to walk afterward. I may never be a Diana Nyad, but I do call myself a swimmer, a swimmer who has learned that one lap can turn into two.
The change we undertake cannot always make us better than others, but it does better us. We are better beings when we open to change. When we allow change to happen in incremental steps and not waterfall crescendos. We may not always be able to measure it in yardsticks and stopwatches, but change will happen when we allow the space for it to happen.
I decided some time ago to let yoga into my life and to make a big change from running long distances to spending longer time on my mat. I still have trouble touching my toes in a forward bend and my splits pose may always hover several inches above the ground, but I have experienced change. Recently, I went through a house-cleaning purge; I had cabinets open and closet doors ajar. As I absentmindedly rushed through the kitchen, I caught my forehead on the hard surface of a cabinet door. The word KABAM! swirled above my head, Batman style. A few years ago, I would yelled something not suited for my mother’s ears. I might have also turned pain into anger against that cabinet door. But what I did do, honestly, shocked me later. I laughed out loud and said to myself…Slow down. Pay attention.
It took a few hours for me to realize that yoga is the reason for my change in reaction. A change that might not seem so large and life altering, but in fact it is both of those. Change. It happens sometimes without us even noticing, a little at a time, but it happens and the payoff can be big.
5 comments
Jean Moxley says:
July 30, 2014 at 2:29 pm (UTC -4 )
Your writing is always so helpful. Makes me realize though that I need to do a lot more yoga!
patrick says:
August 4, 2014 at 12:47 pm (UTC -4 )
lovely reflection….i have bumped my head on a shower wall and, most notably, went toe to toe with the statue of liberty in a bloody incident. it involved ALMOST calling an ambulance to ellis island. LOL.
Ann says:
August 4, 2014 at 3:33 pm (UTC -4 )
Dear Me! Do take care my friend. Grace is found in our laughter! Sending you a hug and a big smile!
Hap says:
August 4, 2014 at 12:58 pm (UTC -4 )
I’ve see it written that change is the only constant in the lower worlds.(MEST)
Most of us resist change, but the adventure seems to begin when we embrace it.
Carl Sandburg mentioned everyone should get off by themselves occasionally; go sit on a rock
in the woods or wherever and take a look at where you are, where you’ve been and where you want to go.
Great way to embrace change.
Happy trails!
🙂
Nancy says:
August 4, 2014 at 5:41 pm (UTC -4 )
As things change, I grow.
Thank you for your musings.