We we were holding chair pose in a Vinyasa yoga class. I was feeling the burn, waiting for chair pose to be over.
The teacher started to offer instructions for how to take the pose further.
Does anyone really want to take chair pose deeper?
I almost tuned it out, content to stay where I was. But I’ve been studying verbal cues, so I heightened my attention to listen to the instruction:
To take it further, lift the corners of your mouth toward your ears.
Brilliant.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
My whole relationship to chair pose changed from that one cue. Suddenly it was easier. I was no longer in resistance to the pose and the sensarion.
It was exactly the type of “taking it further” that I needed in that moment, a reminder that yoga need not be so serious.
It can even be fun.
You can even laugh.
It’s just yoga. It’s not brain surgery. Nobody’s life is at stake.
Sometimes, it helps to have that reminder in whatever we’re doing.
You can smile. You can laugh. You can have fun.
Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
It’s just life.
Love it? Hate it? What do you think? Don't hold back...