I was trying to ‘float’ my leg as per an instruction our yoga teacher was giving us. Float implies light. My leg was very heavy. She was encouraging us to engage our muscles. I did … a bit. There I was, in Warrior II, engaging … or so I thought …. and she came beside and in a quiet voice she whispered, “you have to try harder than you think you should have to.” 

I engaged a lot. Lightbulb moment. My leg gracefully floated off the ground, into the air and I felt as light and as free as a bird. 

This memory comes back to me quite often in life. Recently I heard a quote that resonated. 

‘Loosing weight is hard. Maintaining weight is hard. Being overweight is hard. Choose your hard.’

The truth is, life can be hard. The great news is, it doesn’t have to be all the time. We will have times when life seems effortless; we will all have times when we can cruise, rest, celebrate, relax. All of this is applicable to all of us; the unpredictable nature of life in all it’ s messiness is the one common aspect of the journey we share. 

So how do we know what the right action is in any moment? We practice awareness and discernment. We practice wise choice. We listen to our instincts and choose from a place of wisdom, not from the whim of involuntary reaction. 

I accept there are some days I will over-eat. My kitchen hosts bakers who do it very well!  A full, rich life for me includes the luxury of happily eating cake with my children. Some days I eat cake. Some days I eat just about what my body needs to fuel my energy for the day. Some days I will eat a little less than my calorific needs to make up for the cake. In any given week I’ll have a few of each kind of day. 

I used to be unaware of this. I used to struggle with happily maintaining a weight I liked carrying around on my frame. I had to try harder than I thought I should have to. I had to practice awareness and discernment. I had to practice wise choice. I had to listen to my appetite and learn not to react to habitual whims. This didn’t happen overnight, after 40-ish years of struggle it’s becoming easier. 

So how do we practice awareness and discernment? We practice it on the mat. How do I move? What feels good? Whats lends itself to a sense of freedom? Can I stay with the moments where it all seems a little like too much hard work? Often, the hardest work is just committing to your practice, and cultivating the discipline and perseverance to simply show up. 

That’s why practicing in a community is so valuable. We set an intention to show up for ourselves, we express that intention by booking our classes, by committing to our teacher. Then, in the more difficult moments we have the structure of the routine, the support of the teacher and the community, and we do it, we do the hard thing and we show up. 

Balanced living includes treasuring the rewards of our labour when it bears the rich fruits. Grateful for a healthy, active body we can eat the cake. Communicating from a place of calm, curious, compassion, we enrich our relationships. The discipline of a regular practice gives us the freedom to play with abandon and joy when the work is over. 

You have to try harder than you think you should have to, but there is help there for you when it all feels like too much. Set your intention for your daily meditation practice and do it, even if you’re not in the mood. Plan your yoga, roll out your mat and show up, even if you’re feeling lethargic. Check in with your community and acknowledge it’s hard for them too, none of us sail through life with no effort. 

Join us on the mat, Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-2pm. Each class, each week, we explore a focused theme and practice attention, discipline, discernment and showing up. Even when it’s hard. Of course, if it’s too hard you can always back to bed and eat cake. There’s always tomorrow. As well as life being hard, life is also very forgiving. We can try again … again and again and again. 

See you on the mat. x Sylvia.

"Nothing will work unless you do." - Maya Angelou