It's Enough To Come As You Are
On knowing what we want and getting to the mat
Happy New Year!
Hello! Here I am emerging from the Holiday Vortex.
I made it. I’m present. I’m listening.
I’m on the mat.
When I take a yoga class, the teacher often tells us that we have done the important part: We have made it to the mat. Most of the resistance and obstacles we face come before we actually GET to the practice. Once we’re there, we just need to stay present and listen to our bodies.
So… January. I’m here. I’m not feeling like a get up and go go getter right now, but I don’t want to hibernate either. I am just here. I’m not ready to produce, but I am ready to practice. I can make it to my mat.
That’s it. That’s my New Year resolution which is less resolution and more of an imperative: Make It To The Mat.
Over at DrawTogether by Wendy Mac I found a simple but powerful exercise. Make a list of things that you want more of and a list of things you want less of.
I know I want MORE: Collaboration. Bravery. Attention. Awe. Wildness. Mending. Hydration. Fiber.
I could do with LESS: Shame. Tension. Mess. Screens. Food Waste. Anxiety. Avoidance. Absorbing Other People’s Emotions.
The universe is expanding and so are we. As an artist, I want to always be getting better because that’s the fun. But as a human, I also want to be okay as I am. No sweeping changes. At least not in January. I like these lists because they feel like a gentle way to imagine the path forward without having to remake anything about myself.
I want to make it to the mat, and remember to bring the list. That’s all I’m asking myself to be accountable to. In my yoga practice. In art, music, and writing. In parenting and partnering. Show up on the mat and be ready to practice. We don’t have to know what the practice will be. I might not move from child’s pose. I might just tune the banjo. Some days, that might be it. Permission to be still is kind of an important part of the practice. While I regularly feel resistance to whatever “good for me” thing I’m trying to get to, it’s pretty rare that, once I begin, I don't feel motivated to keep going. I have permission to do nothing, but way more often than not, once I’m warmed up, I want to dig in and see how I can stretch and touch the learning edge. It’s obvious in yoga, but it’s true of creative practice too. If I just warm up my voice, and that’s where I get, that’s where I get. But almost always, once we’re going, we’ll find the flow.
