Consistency, Community, Comfort and Connection,
I think I told you this, but it's worth sharing again.
Back in April I had this drumming in my mind: 30 minutes, 30 days, 30 dollars. Over and over.
I ignored it. We were on lockdown. The kids were struggling in their own unique ways. Steve and I were struggling in our own unique ways. I did not have a vision for how that might take shape.
It didn’t let up. It didn’t necessarily get louder, but it got more physical. It started to pull me. So I sat with it and my mind came up with all sorts of reasons why this was not a thing to do: I don’t have the bandwidth to teach every morning for 30 days. I don’t have the proper space. Who wants to do that with me?
But then I mentioned the idea to Steve. He got it immediately. He opened the door for me by saying, “Well, that’s easy, let’s just paint a yoga studio set in the basement!” And so we did
One hundred of you signed up. The length of class was accessible enough that you found yourself able to commit to a daily practice of 30 minutes a day.
And you know what? It changed me.
That series inspired Yoga Every Damn Day, Magical Mornings, the 40-day Sadhana, Sun Salutations and Silence, and next week’s Strength and Stillness.
In a year full of change and loss, teaching you in the morning has been the silverest of silver linings. And speaking with many of you who are joining me, you are experiencing this, too.
This pandemic has been brutal. The givers in our community have not had the time and space to consider giving to themselves. Not for lack of desire, but the mind puts up blocks. Just like mine did with the 30 day series.
Smaller chunks of time, offered more consistently, helped many of you get on your mat more frequently. Together we learned that this is more than just a yoga practice. This is a practice of connecting to ourselves, giving to ourselves, and nourishing ourselves. Because we can nourish others with a full vessel, not an empty one.
In the last seven months, seeing and speaking with many of you daily, I realized why this shorter, more frequent practice was so nourishing.
Consistency
Consistency in our practice regulates and strengthens the nervous system, and results in a more relaxed and resilient state. Inner and outer consistency create a strength that is not easily knocked down. But consistency does not need to look like you think it does. It doesn’t have to be huge chunks of time. Reframe consistency so it works with your life. Make cultivating a consistent practice of nourishment feel yummy, not another thing on your to-do list. Removing expectation and pressure aids in cultivating consistency.
Community
We are social beings, literally wired for human contact. In these past seven months we have needed to be “socially distant” from each other in order to keep each other well. Digital connections are forming and filling this need. Being in a community is being connected. When we feel connected, we feel nourished. When we finish class, we are beautiful little faces on a grid, smiling and happy to see each other. Community is what you make it.
Comfort
Everyone wants to feel that the world will be okay. We want to feel that what we do day to day matters in the micro and the macro fabric of life. We want to feel safe, even when we feel scared. In a society that is addicted to comfort, we do not shy away from discomfort, but we are better able to process and experience this discomfort when we feel supported. When we are in a space of comfort and ease, we can slide more deeply into ourselves.
Connection
We yearn to feel not only connected to others in deep and in meaningful ways, but we seek those connections to ourselves. The deeper our connection is with who we truly are - beyond labels and roles - the deeper our connection to all beings everywhere. Somehow, even with closing the studio and basically being home all the time, I feel closer to you. I feel more connected to you. I feel like I know many of you better and more deeply. I know many of you feel the same.
I think we all learned a lot about ourselves this year. I saw a quotation somewhere, “I thought 2020 would give me everything I wanted, instead it gave me everything I needed.”
With the lessons of 2020 perhaps still marinating, we step forward toward 2021. A new year and perhaps a new way of perceiving how we care for ourselves and how we connect with others.
