Somewhere Between Work and Joy: 3 things yoga has taught me.
Thank you to Kylie, Yoga in Daily Life practitioner, for this contribution of reflection and insight. We wish you ongoing wisdom and awakening from your yoga practice. And thanks for your questions in class that help us look deeper into our yoga practice and keep it fresh.
I came back to Yoga in Daily Life (YiDL) in Melbourne via lots of running, gym yoga, very dressy flow yoga, beachside and morning dew-covered-grass yoga, pre-recorded yoga and a single too-hot session of hot yoga. It was a ten-year, unintentional, absence that included the Covid years and my pre-schooler turning into a teenager.
I never unsubscribed from the YiDL newsletters, so, after another not-quite-right yoga class in which I sweated, but didn’t work; bent but didn’t fold, I searched in my “deleted” items and opened one.
A lot has changed and more remained the same. The first class back was like coming home. The wisdom of my body recognising a good thing at the cellular level.
Gita, Gopal and Wendy are how I remembered them. My breathing immediately deepens in response to Gita’s tones, Gopal’s classes are ever unpredictable and energising, and Wendy’s gentle instructions bring a smile.
My monkey mind almost always swings from tree to yoga tree as I practice. So many questions. Why do we do the cat pose in every class? Why do we relax so much? Why is everything tighter on my left? What exactly is the purpose of the eagle pose? Do the teachers practice every day? And how do I improve this pose? On and on it goes, always more questions than answers.
There will always be more questions than answers, I accept that. It’s part of the human experience for the world to remain largely opaque, so clarity, when it happens. is precious. Here are three things that have become clear to me since returning to YIDL:
1. You can work a pose for a long, long time and still improve it.
Time is relative and elastic, and you might agree that two decades is a significant amount of time to be practicing any pose, but there is still work to do. Take the mountain pose, every single time I do it, both physical and mental effort is required. The fold in the hips, all ten fingers spread on the ground, hands pushing against the mat, heels to the ground, looking at the knees, and on it goes. Every instruction is helpful, and you keep improving the pose.
In a recent class, Gita said, “Find a point between work and joy,” and this is how I am interpreting it: You don’t work at the same intensity every class, but you do the best you can and there is joy in that. And the joy? You can’t chase it; it runs away if you try. But the joy comes when your body is purposefully doing something it needs. Balance happens when work and joy are in sight of one another.
Every class is somewhere between work and joy. I am still working on the mountain pose.
2. Pose, then repose – relax when you can.
Relax is a big word in yoga, and it’s not easy. Your instinct – well, mine at least – is to hold some tension in anticipation of the next pose. My thinking was always, “Relax? We’ve just started the class/day, don’t we have work to do?!”
It turns out, relaxing is essential because it’s when the magic happens. The energy you generate with a pose flows unimpeded when you are in repose. It’s a river undammed; helping the nourishing benefits spread everywhere.
Relaxing is also the secret sauce that turns stretching and balancing into yoga.
3. You never regret a yoga class.
Ok, so this is not a recent discovery, but “you never regret a yoga class” is a truth that’s easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of everyday. Cheeky minx that Life – has a way of getting in the way of yoga. But I have learnt to do everything possible to make it to a class, because I always, always, feel better after yoga.
The “better” holds true even if I have gone through the poses without really working, even if a frenetic day is waiting for me, even if every pose is challenging, and I can’t balance on one leg for more than a few seconds. I still feel better than before I began. More centred, less sore, breathing deeper. And actually, it might be that when you least want to is when you need it the most.
Ask the monkey to settle a little, stretch the tight hip flexor a touch further, and relax a lot – I (and you will) feel better for it.
Written by Kylie Huang
Yoga in Daily Life Melbourne practitioner. 24.8.23
Contributions are welcome. Email us.
