May 2023 Week 2
Relax with What Is!
“You relax, you stop forcing, then suddenly you discover that the source of grace was there waiting for you all along, willing and happy to help you discover a strength and wisdom that you in fact already have. The moment you stop forcing a result, you develop a mental and muscular poise under pressure.” This is a great quote from Baron Baptiste.
He goes on to apply this concept of relaxing with what is to our poses in our yoga practice. For example, we encounter a difficult pose and Baron says we have 3 options:
1-run away - or come out of the pose
2-white knuckle it - stay and struggle
3-or…..stay, relax, and discover what is really there
Can you see how yoga is really a metaphor for how we live our lives? In this instance lets say you encounter a rough patch emotionally or mentally.
Do you:
1 - run away - literally keep moving, numb yourself with food, alcohol, shopping, obsessive thinking?
2- white knuckle it - stay and struggle - hold on, clenching your way through the discomfort, resisting it all?
3 - or stay, relax into it and don’t resist? Here we GET to uncover parts of ourselves that want to be healed, we learn new ways of handling life and we possibly strengthen our spiritual connection in these times.
“Relax with what is” gives us the mindset of staying, accepting, trusting and surrendering - all amazing tools for us all!!!