Curiosity
Can you approach Your Yoga with wide eyed curiosity?
How do poses feel?
How do you feel in poses?
what’s there for you?
What's not there for you?
What’s coming up?
Can you make the effort to clear you head of alignment rules and just feel how a pose is on that day? get into warrior one without thinking hard about it, and then say, "OK, what's this about today?" and then listen. Listen as if you might hear a voice telling you something. Close your eyes and feel it anew. Approach it with childlike curiosity. Even maybe with a little mischief? "Ha, teacher and cues be dammned, I'm going to do it like this today." Pause. "what's it like?"
And of course we start with the physical body. It's an important place to explore. But don't be surprised if emotions start to surface as well. What thoughts come up as your brain gets bored with listening for answers, and feeling your quads?"
Can you also be curious about what happens when you temporarily suspend your self-judgement? listen to whatever it’s telling you, and be with whatever is? It might be lovely. It might not. Can you accept what is? Even if it sucks? If not, can you at least just sit with it for the duration of class, or just the duration of this pose? Pushing things away is totally natural and logical response to difficulty, unhappiness, and discomfort. But sometimes when we stop pushing and controlling in favor of and acceptance and begin listening with curiosity, things soften or begin to resolve in ways we hand't thought of, or couldn't have implemented on our own. I'm not saying you should be a doormat and put up with crap. And I personally struggle with when to push and when to back off. When to speak up and when to stay quiet. When to make a bold statement of when to craft a more subtle response. But realization of new discernment skills has allowed me to work with it and contemplate it. I welcome my fear and discomfort. I believe they're here to teach me or test me or something. But they're here for a reason, so I try to figure out out rather than just stuffing it down or meditating it away.
It might change how you feel about a once beloved pose. It might bring a realization that you shouldn't be doing the pose. (hello wrist issues. Maybe I shouldn't do chutturunga's.) I might help you sort out irrational fears. who knows, the possibilities are literally endless. come to class, begin to sort it out. Be playful and get curious.
