Hello September

In conversations with yoga students lately, I’ve noticed a common theme-disappointment upon noticing that their body struggles with the pose. Struggle in poses can come from an injury or illness or overuse or underuse. Because the body and mind are constantly changing, however, this might not be a permanent or long-lasting state. That’s the good news! Yoga reminds us to do and release past patterns that might hinder the present attempt. The key words here are disappointment, struggle, change, and hinderance.

Yoga helps to free the body and mind of constraints. When we become disappointed, we are often attached to an outcome that either happened once before in the past or that we wish would happen in the future. Naturally, we learn from past experiences and hope for future ones, but when those memories or expectations hold us back, disappointment and hinderance arise.

Yoga Sutra 1.12 advises that we practice without focusing on the fruits of the practice: “Through practice and non-attachment together, the fluctuations of the mind are stilled.” In this way, we are free to be in the moment of practice. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we will achieve a full forward fold, balance for five minutes, or eliminate discomfort.

However, through our attempts, we experience ourselves; we test boundaries to see if they still support us or merely confine us.  When we struggle with a pose, it doesn’t mean that the pose is unattainable for us. It shows us that we must change our approach to it. We let go of the future goal (the fruits) once we begin our practice in order to recognize if struggle is present and deal with it.

So next time a yoga pose seems difficult, ask yourself: Do I need to do it differently this time.