Surely as we develop strength and flexibility, both in the body and in the mind, the practice should get easier. Right?
Practice doesn’t always work that way; it isn’t black and white; it isn’t so straightforward.
Since last week, for example, I’ve been struggling with kapotasana (pidgeon pose), a posture that I had thought I’d gotten to know, gotten comfortable with. Kapo and I made friends, I thought…
But between deepening my relationship with my leg behind the head and the winter weather here in Barcelona (it’s mild I know, but I am have been living many many many years in the tropics), what was once manageable has gotten a whole lot harder. In fact, backbending in general, which I really love, has changed so dramatically over the last two weeks, it’s been startlingly humbling.
I realize, however, that I have a choice: I could despair, I could get frustrated or angry, I could give up this crazy leg behind the head business and preserve the postures that I’d worked so hard for, that I was admittedly very attached to–the later of which may be one of the reasons, along with tight hips, why it’s taken me so log to get here, this awkward place–
Or I could just practice; practice with acceptance that my body is adapting and that it’s not always easy; practice with patience that these openings take time; practice with understanding that moving forward sometimes comes with its share of backsliding–that practice is an interesting game of snakes and ladders; practice with trust, with faith in this system which has just about turned around every limited thought I have even had about the bounds of my own physical body; practice with love, showing up everyday with an open heart and mind…
Guruji, Pattabhi Jois, said it best: “Practice, practice, all is coming…”
PHOTO: This photo–like practice, like life–taken in “black and white” is full of subtleties in tone and shades. We will be talking more about the struggles that come with practice on the Sunday, March 1 workshop on the Bhagavad Gita, Pazzifica Ashtanga Yoga, Barcelona. More details on www.pazzifica.com.
one love yoga 
Interesting to experience the difference in our bodies and the practice from one moment to the next. Sometimes, it makes you notice how we’re ever evolving and changing. Love this read and the perspective we can choose to take with us, especially in those humbling places.
Recognizing there was a choice made all the difference for me today on the mat. It was still difficult but I just understood that this was the path I needed to take, that I decided to take. I realize now, after reading your observation that by choosing, I had a good practice despite it all…