Sarah Court

I knew it had been a while since I wrote anything here, but I didn’t realize it had been over a month since I checked the blog a few days ago. [Full disclosure: when I wrote the first version of this article, it said ‘almost a month’, not ‘over a month.’] I think originally I had intended to write something once a week. Best laid plans…

But I try to only write when I have something I’m excited about, rather than just writing something to meet some sort of arbitrary schedule, and sometimes I’m just more excited about a topic than other times. As much as we organize our lives around clocks and calendars, which unquestionably serve a purpose, it’s valuable to recognize that on a grander, macrocosmic scale, our lives flow in a different way. When we start to see how this movement of energy constantly shifts and changes, we get to ride it like a surfer on a wave, and take advantage of where it takes us, rather than fighting the tide.

Our asana practice is like this. Some days we are full of energy, free in our bodies, ready to take on whatever the teacher throws our way. Other days, we can barely muster up a downward facing dog, our bodies feel desiccated and ancient, and class drags by. 

This ebb and flow is reflected not just in our practice, but in every aspect of our lives.  We might become too single-mindedly focused on getting one specific job, doing everything in our power to try and make it happen, but to no avail. Or we may spend weeks trying to win back the heart of someone who broke up with us. Denial and anger over the death of a loved one may send us into a depression. All of these situations have the same kernel at their core: resistance to what life is presenting to us in the moment. When we resist what is in front of us, we suffer.

When it comes to our practice, we can use the greatest tool at our disposal – our breath – to act as a release valve for any drama that might build up in our minds as we navigate not only the poses, but our mind’s constant commentary on the experience.

This is the heart of yoga: if we are truly to find the union that yoga tells us is available to us, all the time, right now, we have to let the flow of life take us on our journey. The moment we give up resistance (and the 2 minutes we’re able to maintain it before we start resisting all over again) we experience a great relief, a great unburdening. What a load off to stop fighting against what our lives are telling us, and instead to go with the ebb and flow.

“The resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering.” – Ram Dass

“Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is...The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.” – Dan Millman

“You have to stop the Q-tip when there’s resistance." - Chandler Bing, Friends