Lately I realise that my yoga self-practice has become that space that comes to counterbalance everything else in life (what happens outside of sadhana) when it overtakes me.
Let me explain myself better:
If suddenly the world asks me to go faster and on automatic, my practice becomes slower and more conscious.
If the world demands more of me, presses me and pushes me, then my practice becomes a softer, less forced, more spacious moment.
If outside I tense up, inside I try to loosen up. I soften.
But no. It does not happen alone.
It is not something that happens naturally.
It is a conscious effort for me to bring the practice there. Not because I “have to do it”, but because I feel it as a means to be better.
And it's funny, because I also see it a lot in my classes.
I believe that the vast majority of us are caught up in the frenetic pace of today's world: networks, news, media, globalisation, immediacy, shipments that travel around the world in a few days, the possibility of being on the other side of the planet in hours, the “everything at a click”, the ease of this digitised world.
And mind you (because I really believe it) all this has a mega arch-positive side.
But it is not free either.
This constant access, this speed, this permanent availability, makes us believe that we have the right to demand it from others... or even from ourselves.
Just because the world is moving fast doesn't mean you have to.
Even less so in your practice, which is precisely that space for balancing, balancing and tidying up what is in disarray.
Even so, it is almost inevitable:
if you're on automatic, you're likely to drag that automatic into your practice... and everything you do. Even when you're supposed to no you are doing.
And at the same time, I reread myself and think:
“Well, let's not make any more demands on the practice... in the end, do what you can and can do, which is already a lot”.
But then the questions arise:
Have we fallen into the trap of today's world, where everything has to be easy, fast and without time or dedication?
Is it that we cancel, or do we redefine the word effort with a negative tinge?
For me (and I speak from personal experience), putting effort into what is worthwhile has always led me to success.
And that does not mean that the effort was a bad or draining thing, but rather something logical and necessary to bring about a change, achieve a goal or sustain a desire.
Today I feel that this “effort” - when it becomes a mandate - is confused with something very different:
With the effort to do what is necessary to live better.
With more awareness.
With more presence.
With more of what you need today to be here.
I invite you, and I invite me, to pay attention to your rhythm, your form, your effort... and your non-effort in your next encounter with the mat.
To observe how much of your life you drag into practice and how much you can discern.
To practice, right there, that delicate balance between the inner world and the outer world.
