Staying the Course: Yoga After January
Beginning a yoga practice, particularly as we launch into a new year, can feel wildly exciting. Sometimes beginnings are easy. Sometimes they are hard.
For me starting a new project or adventure, especially one that captures my imagination, is exciting and rewarding. The trouble begins when I get bored or don't feel inspired anymore. My parents will tell you that this was true even when I was a wee lad. Fast forward 40 years, and I am still struggling with my ability to stay the course. Call it a habit, a discipline, a routine, or a yoga practice--they all flourish with dedicated, recurring commitment.
How many of us have built high hopes for contorting our bodies into the same brilliant, beautiful shapes we see people doing on social media? Did you attend classes diligently in-person or online--perhaps daily at first? It is all new and exciting--like falling in love. We explore poses and a range of teaching styles by dropping into each teacher's class. And it's fun to order a new mat, buy blocks and straps, and spend hours deciding which cool new yoga pants to buy. It's not a problem to have goals and aspirations for a yoga practice. It's not wrong to get some new gear. It's not bad to be excited and to dream big.
We've done hundreds of sun salutations, determined which teachers we like best, and even fell over a few times doing half-moon pose. But then we hit the end of January, and it all feels daunting. The big dream gets foggy, and the mind starts to wander, not just in class. We skip a class to take the dog to the vet or stay home and snuggle with our partner. We begin to realize that yoga is challenging. Or at least harder than we thought.
To show up for me is my challenge. Yoga is hard. Two decades into my practice, the hard part is making time to take a class instead of teaching a class.
Yoga is challenging, AND it's beautiful. It is a practice that can help remind us each day that we get to start again. We can be like goldfish, to quote Ted Lasso. Each time we step onto the mat, we are allowed to become a beginner again. No matter how many years of practice we have under our belts.
Yoga is challenging because we must stick with it. By sticking with it, we can discover how powerful we are, how honest we need to be with ourselves about our desires, and find a way to move through a challenge to discover a beautiful success that is uniquely yours.
As January comes to a close and you may feel like letting go of your new year commitment to yoga, I invite you to pause and take a deep breath. Bask in this present moment. Consider how far you've come--celebrate that instead of becoming daunted by the road ahead. And as a way forward, honor yourself by recommitting to the practice of yoga--not the mastery of the yoga or the poses. When you come back to the mat each time, you will discover something new.