"breathe in, let; breathe out, go"

Some people say that you find inner strength when you are in a state of weakness. Others may say that without all the bad days, the good ones wouldn't appear so good. With either philosophy, I believe our greatest asset is balance.


Surely, there are going to be times in your life when you're at an impass (note: first blog!). And there will be points during that process when you realize you might want to focus on the big picture. Okay, so I may not like driving through traffic every day, but overall, I am happy to be working. No, I don't always enjoy going to the gym at the end of a long day, but overall, it helps me stay healthy and energized. Then again, since when did the big picture matter more than the little things? "Don't sweat the small stuff," right? But what if the small stuff, the "sweat," is the work that life is all about?


Over the past few weeks in my Monday/Wednesday yoga class, our instructor begins and ends each practice with the same mantra. She says, "Note the feeling of breathing in as 'let' and breathing out as 'go.' " Any fellow students of yoga or meditation understand the importance of noticing the little things, and that trying to ignore them is how we can easily fall out of focus. There is no way to clear your mind of all distractions. There will be noises, lights, vibrations, all of which are sure to send a signal to your brain and trip your awareness. But if there is a constant turn to the breath, you will consistently be focused - even with all the "stuff" that may come in your way. "Breathe in, let; breathe out, go."


In our balance sequences, our teachers always remind us, "you don't need to fight it, wobbling is good!" At first, I never understood this, because I saw yoga like any athletic activity; I assumed there was a goal, a destination. The very first time I was going to get into Vrksasana (tree pose), I put my foot at the top of my thigh (after all I was plenty flexible to do so), and I got right back into position the second I began to waver and lose control. I was determined. In fact I was mad and embarrassed when I would begin to fall. In today's class, I stood in Vrksasana with my arms wide as strong tree branches, breathing deeply and working towards a slight back bend. However, each side of the pose was completely different. On the left side I kept my balancing foot at the base of my rooted leg next the calf. On the right, I was able to bring my left foot all the way to my inner right thigh. And like today, over the past two years, I have learned it's not about trying to get to a pose perfectly, it's about coming into and sustaining the feeling of a perfect pose, no matter what it took you to get there.


So I try to plan and look at life as a big picture. After all, there is a future in store. But more than ever, I try to remember that the small stuff is what puts that picture together. The small achievments will build up to larger ones, and this process of steps take us further than any obstacle could hinder.