Good Morning Dear Friends-
It has been a wild ride and there have been plenty of moments to take our practices off the mat and out into the world. Over these past couple of months, I have noticed that reading our world’s events daily has had a direct impression on the next hours as I work to teach my son. During these times while I play at keeping it together, the agitation grows, and I realize he knows and the gig is up. My inner adult tells me to grow up and put on my game face while my inner child is as searching, growing and in need of both truth and empathy as much as he is. One day, we both flared like tigers and in the wake of a hard moment, a piece of advice that I had read arced across the blank space where despair was having a dance party. I crossed the room and sat beside his clenched little body and said, ‘I am sorry. We are both hurting. Can we start over’? Not expecting that, his head cocked and his face softened as we unraveled and began to talk through what had made us bristle. Since then, this has been a true gift and tool to use to reset- we acknowledge the pain, clear the air, and then we begin again. Last night as I was cleaning up our dinner plates alone in the kitchen, I felt two small arms wrap around my waist and the words, ‘I am sorry. Can we start again?,’ ring out soft but clear. I turned around and bent to meet his face asking him why he asked me that and he said, ‘ I wasn’t helping you clean up.’ A slow smile crossed my lips and my heart swelled as I handed him a plate to put away.
The truth is, this coming week will present the same highs and lows as the ones before. However, in our polarized and high-alert state, we have the opportunity to be the change we wish to see in the world.
The first, second and third stages are all the same:
We acknowledge the pain.
We clear the air.
We set our focus.
We begin again.
While we are first and foremost stewards of yoga and the practice of yoga, we are also humans living in a very intense time. We cannot avoid the difficult issues presented to us but we can find and provide steps both small and large to put our practice into the context of living from our inside worlds, outwards. Sharing our stories is not an act of diminishing or condemning the outer world, rather, it is a way to find a foothold towards a purposeful way to unite rather than divide our paths.
Whether you are addressing the state of your union, the state of our union, your friendships, your practice (if you have been away and sheepish to restart), your injuries, a sour moment, an angry silence, -these are the moments where we can pause in the scribble of our mind bubble ( I read a lot of comics), offer apologies, ask deeply for what is the next right step and allow ourselves to begin again.
Yoga teaches us that in taking these steps that we afford our self the special chance for many opportunities to grow and shift. This weekend TYC is so fortunate to welcome back Dr. Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Ph.D, Assistant of Medicine at Harvard University, who will present these meditative qualities through the lens of research and data. Many have attended his workshop multiple times and they’ve discovered that there is always something new that pops out as he shares, discusses and collaborates. His work has resonated profoundly amongst teachers, school administrators and managers and has the ability to be transposed into all areas of life. Please join us for this special workshop. If you are unable to attend, sign up to recieve access to watch the recording which also includes a powerpoint presentation, for the 24 hours following his workshop.
Above all else, we wish you to be healthy, be well, treat yourselves and each other with kindness, and remember that for every salute of our sun there is a rise and a low bow.
With love-
Sharon and Your TYC Tribe