You show up on the yoga mat and this celestial-like-creature comes and sits beside you. Mind chatter – “she has got that yoga body, symmetrically crafted hair bun, more flexible and limber than me”. Throughout the practice, you keep your gaze on her and comes the mind chatter again – “why am I perspiring so much? Why can’t I do chaturanga like her? Is she thinking I am weak?” or “so silly, who wears makeup to yoga class? I bet she is not a real yogi, I bet someone bought her that designer clothes”.
As soon as you notice your mind starts to manifest with all these thoughts, it’s time to take a step back and bring your mind back to your initial intention of showing at the mat today.
- Listen to your body for a moment – If your breath is getting away from you or feeling stitching pain by pushing yourself into a posture, it’s time to check your ego and be gentle to your body.
- Ask yourself what you need at that moment – If you can’t do the posture, do the modified ones or even use the probs to find “you” in that modified posture.
- Let go of your expectations – celebrate small wins, no matter how small the magnitude is.
- Change your mindset – be curious of what your body is capable of doing and become an ally to your body, not enemy.
Everyone has a garden of their own. Everyone invests different quantity of time and efforts in their own gardens. In return, some gardens may have beautiful blooming flowers and some have strong lively cactuses or succulents. Why bother looking at others’ gardens when you could have used this time to plant the right seeds for the flowers you always wanted from others’ gardens in your own garden instead?
Have a vision for your garden – what kind of garden do you want to have? what is the purpose or mission of your garden? What do you want to grow in your garden? How do you want your garden laid out? What do you want to achieve with your garden?
Now, replace the word “garden” with “life”. Does it make more sense to you?
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – quoted from Eleanor Roosevelt
Bee
