Staying motivated when
yoga doesn't cooperate
BARRY PETERSON
SPECIAL TO
Posted: 3/2/2007
Today's yoga practice doesn't always go the way I want it to. So
where do I find the motivation to show up again tomorrow, anyway?
Yogis define practice as a method for de-stressing, increasing
flexibility or strength. We think we know what we want from our yoga each day,
and we expect it to yield these benefits. But the yoga often defies our
expectations, and eludes us with its maddening neutrality.
The other day I went to yoga, eager for a good workout. Instead, I
crumbled, had no strength, and struggled to even stay standing for many of the
poses. After class, I lay flat on the floor for a long time, frustrated and
exhausted. This was exactly not what I wanted from my class, but exactly what I
needed. Looking back, I recognized that the days preceding the class were very
emotionally challenging for me, but I was too busy to really appreciate the
toll the week had taken. The yoga delivered the emotional release that my
body-mind most needed that day. Once I gathered my energy later, I felt rejuvenated.
Each pose offers a mix of benefits, and a specific sequence of
poses can offer the full spectrum. However, it's difficult to predict which
benefits "show up" that day. Will you be filled with
intensity and laser-like focus, or struggle with balance? Will difficult
emotions well up, or will you sail through class with Buddha-like serenity?
As our confidence in practice builds, we begin to trust that we
need only to cooperate with it by showing up and paying diligent attention,
regardless of how we feel that day. This process gradually cleanses the
intentions in our hearts, the clarity of our focus and the tissues of our
bodies.
Gradually, our awareness shifts from what we've heard about yoga's
benefits to what we've personally experienced. Motivation grows from there.
The poses do require effort. It's just that in relative terms, the
hardest work is sometimes stepping through the front door.
Barry Peterson is manager of Bikram Yoga
Sparks. This story recently appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal's Neighborhoods
section.