I love trees and visit ‘my’ tree as often as I can during the week. She grounds me, charges me and provides me with self-love inspiration. Sitting under her arms, brings me all I need plus a big dose of creative juice. I also seldom resist the urge to add tree pose to my time on my mat, as it is one of my favourites.
On the flip side, there is a particular yoga pose that I am really struggling to love and perhaps even to like. I find it extremely challenging at the best of times. As we all know, life has ups and downs with moments of balance, a rather yin yang approach to life. Yet when life gives us challenges to deal with, we don’t stop flowing. We live through them and experience moments of happiness, joy and love, but also feelings of sadness, grief and fear; and a myriad more. Similarly on my mat, I need to work with some of the harder poses in order to continue growing my practice (and myself). Enter the chair pose.
Breathe in and out. Sit down into chair. And sink in deeper.
This one I find hard, difficult, challenging and oh so painful on my thighs! I continue to struggle to like this pose, but I have started to change my viewpoint and look at it from a different angle, even though my thighs complain loudly.
I have learnt that despite obstacles, I am physically stronger than I think I am. Even though I am uncomfortable in the pose, and did I say that I really don’t like it 🙂 , it teaches me patience with the pose, myself and adds value. I am strengthening a variety of muscles, including my thighs (which I trust will support my sporadic hip pain). It helps me to overcome my aversion to doing the things I dislike, because with time it actually gets easier. Let’s face it, we all have things we dislike doing, yet sometimes life needs us to face them and just do it. So facing up to chair pose, helps me to remember to face up to the other things I really don’t enjoy. I have to come back to my breath and breathe deeply, especially when the going gets tough. Precisely then, it is more important to breathe. Lastly, I now know, yes through trial and error as well as the gentle support of my yoga teacher and soulsister C., that I can almost always sink into chair deeper. Sounds like it is going to hurt, doesn’t it? However, it isn’t, as by going that little bit deeper, it actually eases up.
That is the key in life as well. As we sink in deeper to all of our now moments, whether we may like or dislike them, they begin to ease up in ways we never anticipated.
Want to give chair pose a try? I challenge you to see how it feels for you and do remember that not everyone feels as strongly about it as I do. (Please be kind to yourself and only do what your body allows you to do and what feels comfortable to you and your body. Do not push yourself, this is about gentle self-care.)
Breathe. Sit. And sink.
How do you sink in deeper when you have something challenging to do? I love hearing your thoughts!
with love, Delicia
The guidance and support to “sink” deeper – is around us, we only “sink” the next moment or action. In doing so we relieve ourselves from limitations that no longer serves. As we trust ourselves more, the internal light shines through to be our authentic self, now and in every moment. Enabling us to experience Love, Peace and Joy.
Namaste my soul sister D
Namaste Paulette for your wise words shared so gently with deep truth. It resonates so strongly with all I am feeling and experiencing in my now. Noticing all that is around me, brings me what I need and supports me in so many ways. May our light and authentic self shine brightly in each and every now moment. Much gratitude to you my soulsister P.
Hi Delicia, nice post, I got sad! I was doing yoga everyday during the summer, but I’ve stopped, my bones aren’t very friendly of yoga, they are complaining, lots of inflammation. My mind was much better, I should re-start slowly. Thanks for the reminding me. Your tree is lovely and strong!
I am sorry that you are struggling to do yoga. I know that I would miss it terribly if I couldn’t do it. Do remember to be gentle with your body and yourself. My teacher always makes sure to remind us of this at every class, so that we only do what feels comfortable and within the limits of our own bodies. It is good advice.
I love restorative yoga as your body is supported in the poses through props, thus allowing your body to totally relax into the pose. I wonder if restorative yoga would be an alternative option for you at this moment?
Sending you healing light. Namaste.
Hi mdssD
Well I’m not sure what chair pose is exactly as I have never done yoga, however I have done 25years of Martial Arts. Chair pose sounds a bit like Buddha Sit, where you bend your knees at a 90 degree angle as if sitting on an invisible chair.
I don’t know how long one should aim to stay in chair pose, but I do remember in a really tough grading my class was left in Buddha Sit for an hour and twenty minutes. I have never sweated so much from just being in one position. We still do it as part of our training, but normally only for about 3mins using good form.
I don’t know anyone who likes Buddha Sit, let alone loves it, so don’t feel bad.
So now we know why there are trees, so we can make chairs, silly!
Love lots
YssGilli
X
Hi mdssGilli,
It sounds exactly like Buddha Sit. I cannot even begin to imagine being in Buddha Sit for an hour and twenty minutes! Three minutes sounds doable and perhaps what we do in chair pose, though I suspect it is less. I have never timed actually timed it but rather counted breaths. 😉
Of course, that’s why there are trees, silly. Laugh. I sure hope no one makes chair out of ‘my’ tree as she is rather special.
Love lots
YssD xxx
Today thinking at the uneasy situation of a soulsister and her discomfort I was reminded that the best we can do in challenging situations is to relax. Exactly as you wrote in this beautiful post, yoga teaches us not to resist or force any pose but breathe and relax, surrender. Gratitude for your reminder to embrace rather than fight and the invitation to take the challenge as an opportunity to transform. I hope you started to love the chair pose!
Breathe. Relax. Transform.
Namaste
I have started to love the chair pose and each time I do it, I love it just a little more. Your comment has reminded me again of that important thought, to relax into challenges so that we can move through them with ease.
I trust that we will all (you, your soulsister, me and all soulsister) find our ways to relax within our own challenges. I hold that space with trust.
I breathe, relax and transform. Lovely.
Gratitude Annalisa.