Flexible Mind ⇄ Flexible Body
Oct 07, 2020I do believe the two go hand-in-hand. If the mind isn't willing, how can we expect the body to be willing? The principle extends even beyond just our physical limits, a flexible mind in being open to various perspectives can also be key to unlocking hidden potentials and possibilities.
Long before I became a yoga teacher, I took an 'advanced' yoga class and was quite irked...the teachers had us doing jumping jacks and holding 'basic' poses (i.e Warrior I/II - which you end up learning, as you advance in asana, is way more complicated than 'basic') for what felt like forever. In the 75 minute class that was supposed to be 'advanced' we had done 100 jumping jacks and 5 poses - no handstands, no backbends, no inversions, not even a vinyasa. I could tell I wasn't the only student feeling frustrated, annoyed, and thinking that I just wasted a good 75 minutes of my day. And, then right after he cued savasana (along with the annoyed, rustling noises of students trying to dip out ASAP), the teacher said something so profound, that tied into just what he was trying to teach us, and just why that class was such an "advanced" class. It's stuck with me since, he said:
"Tune into what you resist. It may just be what you need most."
*boom* my world shattered. In that one little phrase, my 75 minutes transformed from a perceived 'waste' into a 'pivotal' life lesson.
I wasn't always flexible. I never took gymnastics, I took one ballet class and when the teacher tried to stretch my hamstrings, I cried and screamed so hard, they advised my mom reassess if this is what I really wanted. In fact, I was the kid who failed PE in middle school (yup, the gym teacher called my parents for that 'discussion'), at age 17, I could not for the life of me touch my toes, and remembered thinking I'd NEVER EVER EVER GET INTO STRETCHING (hah! and forget about yoga!). So when people ask me is flexibility possible? Im of course biased to say "YES, I think so! but only if the mind is flexible." What do I mean?
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