When a rest is as good as a change

I was telling Hubby about recent experiences of sitting practice and the feelings of frustration that arise, turning recent attempts into something of a patient sitting out, a waiting for this to pass, to resolve itself in time. I feel OK with that, for me it’s no big deal in the grander scheme; I’ve been here before.

But his response really interested me. He immediately suggested some changes to my practice to help me focus better and feel as though I was getting somewhere. In my ears at least, to fix the problem and make it go away. Different responses to the same situation — based on our different experiences, I suppose, because by inclination I’m every bit as much of a fixer as he is.

So much for sitting practice.

Asana practice isn’t faring much better of late. Frustration here too. I’ve allowed myself to be derailed by various mini-crises domestically. None of them big dramas but, in combination with a little cold virus, enough to have stopped me rolling out the mat for a few days.

And now that I’m back with my asana practice I find I’m suddenly more easily letting go of the frustrations and the regrets of days that have slipped by. In those first unfurling exploratory movements I felt a homecoming. I smiled into the shapes and they welcomed me. My body surprised me by knowing where to go and I just rolled along with that. It’s not Bliss with a capital B, but it’s pretty sweet.

My boss, a fan of Latin tags, likes to tell me ambulando solvitur, that all things are resolved in the act of walking. I like that one. It make sense to me and I love the tradition of walking meditators, thinkers and poets. Step by step creativity. A kind of vinyasa krama!?

But for me right now more things are solved by doing yoga.

[featured image from here]