Something Old/Something New

Every now and then, we can feel like we’re in a bit of a rut. When that happens, I’ve found that there are usually two ways to respond: First, make some change to your daily routine—even a small one. Maybe you go for a short walk BEFORE your morning coffee. Or buy that weird vegetable you’ve never cooked before. Or call that person you haven’t spoken to in a while to say hello. The second option is to dig deeper.  As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes the absolute best practices in yoga occur when you first come to the mat NOT wanting to practice at all. There is a certain freedom that can come over you when you’re “not in the mood.” At those times, the discipline of the practice can carry you along and all of sudden you find a new depth or way of doing something or experience a shift in attitude towards a familiar sequence, and just like that, the same old practice has become revelatory. As Twyla Tharpe points out in her book The Creative Habit, even a tiny shift in focus can turn what we thought of as a rut into a groove.  

Happily, yoga is such a rich and varied discipline, we can always find small and sometimes big ways to vary our practice. I hope you’ll find something old/new in the schedule this week. I look forward to practicing with you.