Resistance

There’s talk of being present and the fire element and tuck those ribs in and are you going to Wanderlust? That’s what I’m hearing in the studio at the moment and these words resonate as much as they slide around not wanting to commit to being heard just yet.

This morning though, one word got through loud and clear. Resistance. Yes, I thought, that’s it. That’s what I’m working with right now.

We stood in Pranayama breathing and swan dived down resisting, like your arms are moving through water. I immediately slowed my breath and felt my body respond. Muscles lengthened, skin tightened; I went with it and swam, and it all sort of made sense.

No matter who you talk to at this time of year, you can be sure they’re going to say they’re busy. It’s almost Christmas, it’s the end of school production, it’s exam time, it’s work drinks followed by client dinners. There are parties and functions and lists, and lists of lists, and making decisions at 11pm to sort through the box of bathroom samples that you moved with because now is definitely the time for a face scrub be productive.

Combine this with a very tangible sense of having to rush to complete the year and, well, there’s potential for a whole lot of crazy. Some of us deal with this better than others. There are real, actual people who have done their shopping; unpacked decorations from labelled storage containers to place in thematic order around an organic tree and, let’s face it, probably have a tray of bliss balls in the freezer. (Some of us are trying very hard not to be all judgy/immensely inadequate about that.)

But, as I discovered this morning, if we simply accept what can seem like overwhelming opposition at every turn and work with it, rather than against it, then life can feel a little easier. It may be a case of adjusting your step to fit a slower pace, which the moment you do gives you back a sense of control, of breathing space.

To move through water is a beautiful thing, its natural resistance requires us to move with elegance and grace. I’m going to remember this and embrace it.

This morning I was reminded of a poem from one of my favourite poets that I’d love to share with you –

 

Watching Swimmers

Their clean
torsos. The way
their white arms
reach. The way
each stroke
causes the rest
of the body to
follow through
the water.
So casual about
breath, it’s
implications.

Jenny Bornholdt (from How We Met)

 

– Jane

©The Yoga Connection