Bikram>Discomfort

For me, the 90-minute Bikram class is usually pretty intense.  Pretty uncomfortable.  Because it demands everything you have to give, it requires laser beam concentration on exactly what you are doing - that moment.  The class forces you into the present moment.  To really do the hot yoga, you must let go of what has already happened and of your expectations about what is to come.  You have no choice but to be in the here and the now: in a "meditative" practice.
Perhaps for this reason (or maybe despite it), I never dread the class--I look forward to it.  The gifts the class creates surpass comfort zones.

Humor (and Truth!)

“If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.”
― Epictetus

Probably So

To obtain a bird's eye is turn a blizzard to a breeze.

World Travelers

This crazy duo will be traveling to Asia (Singapore, Koh Samui, Thailand) next week!  This is not a joke!  For all of life's beautiful experiences...Grateful, grateful, grateful.

*us*

Be Okay

Lessons from my mat...

Impatience: One way this comes about is when we experience discomfort or something we don't like and it stays with us longer than we'd like.

Everything is temporary.  It's not going to be with you forever.  Can you stay with it a little longer?

We are after future versus now--where are we going and where have we been?  Find comfort in the in-between, the now.  Surrender.  Lose control.  There is very little you can control.  Be okay.

On the mat, this can be easier with fatigue--when all the fight in you is gone, you can let go more easily.  Give in.  Release tension, control, worries.  They will come back, but once you've shown them the door, they'll know where it is next time.

What are you holding onto?  What do you keep holding onto?  Let go.  You don't have to be perfect.

You are standing on a rock.

Your feet are firmly planted.  You are moving to the next rock, though, and you must take the leap to get there.

You can...

Nervously move, cautious, anxious, wondering what you look like as you go.  Do you look funny?  Will you make it?

Or you can...

Tip your face to the sky, chest to the sun, open your heart and take the leap.

Who are you today?

Photographs

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Aristotle had it right 2000 years ago

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle

You can be awesome at whatever you set your mind to....

...There is something wonderfully empowering about this. It suggests we have remarkable capacity to influence our own outcomes. But that's also daunting. One of Ericsson's central findings is that practice is not only the most important ingredient in achieving excellence, but also the most difficult and the least intrinsically enjoyable.

If you want to be really good at something, it's going to involve relentlessly pushing past your comfort zone, along with frustration, struggle, setbacks and failures...

Power in Surrender - Lesson from My Mat

Something new happened during my Bikram yoga class last night.  About 40 minutes in, I felt extremely nauseous and like I might pass out (this isn't the new part).  Instead of fighting it, though -- my normal response ("you got this." "power through." "Bengal tiger strength.") This time, I surrendered to it.  I surrendered to What Is.  I am okay with whatever happens to me.  As soon as I let go, let it all go, the feeling passed.  And, I was okay--even at peace.  Sometimes fighting-through is not the answer.  Sometimes there is more power in your surrender.