"How can I do this with more ease?"
This question was HUGE for me. Lately, it’s been surfacing as something of a mantra. A reminder of this alternate reality in which we can choose to be less harried and stressed. To unyoke from this suffocating pressure we (and our culture!) put on ourselves and open up some bright, gleaming space and grace. To be gentler with us. The question was introduced to me during my first-ever restorative yoga retreat several summers ago with the divinely gifted Yuval Samburski...and instantly, I understood it to be about so much more than our immediate circumstances. A key to cutting through decades of conditioning to do more, more, more and keep pushing through no matter what and be ever more perfect…conditioning that had left me emotionally and physically exhausted. Sick. Restorative yoga is a resting yoga practice where we long-hold relaxing–not stretching or aspirational–poses on the floor supported by comfy props. It’s like a meditation from the body up in which we get as cozy as possible, get super quiet and listen DEEEEEPLY to our bodies, breathe with what’s there, see what we can exhale and release–be it muscular tension, buzzing thoughts, long-held beliefs, whatever we don’t need in that moment. The more our bodies relax, the more our brains can relax…and even rewire. The practice is about making it easier for ourselves. Listening to our needs. Making ourselves feel good and reminding ourselves that we have this remarkable power already within us to do so. What the practice opens up, what its philosophy and this question alone open up…is everything. How can you find more ease, right here, right now?
What if we decided to make it easier for ourselves? Where is the tension in your body and life, and can you exhale and release any of it? Can you give yourself more grace and space? Care for yourself a little more, like a precious child?
Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, can you get quiet, ask yourself these questions, and listen to the glimmering answers?
Want to learn more about restorative yoga? I offer a weekly Restorative & Reiki class at Bhakti Yoga in Washington, DC every Friday, 6:45-8 p.m. and online and in-person workshops throughout the year.
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