Reading from Monday, February 20, 2012 yoga class
The following is from the book "Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life" by Charlotte Bell.
Before I quote from the book, let me set up the picture. She goes on a 30 day meditation retreat. On the third day of the retreat she says that her body felt as if it were on fire. She resolved to sit no matter what. Sitting three hours was her choice.. the required time to sit was 45 minutes, but she reasoned that if sitting for 45 minutes was good, three hours must be better. So...
"Later in the retreat, we listened to a taped discourse in which Osho talked at length about the Herculean effort he had made in the early years of his practice. For many years he studied and practiced with such intensity that he eventually became so exhausted that he gave up. It was at that point, when he surrendered and stopped pushing himself, that what he had sought finally appeared to him.... A wave of relief washed over me... A joyous truth washed through me: I don't have to work so hard!
My teacher suggested that the rest of my retreat be dedicated to giving myself permission to rest. It was not hard work but EASE that I needed to learn. I realized that right effort can come in many guises. In his book "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh tells a traditional Buddhist story about the teachings on effort. In the story the Buddha asks a musician monk, Sona, A muscial question. "What happens if the string of your instrument is too loose? 'When you pluck it, there will be no sound,' Sona replied. 'What happens when the string is too taut?' 'It will break.' The practice of the Way is the same... Maintain your health. Be joyful. Don not force yourself to do things you cannot do.'
In the same way, we can balance our own efforts in whatever we do. Whether the Way for you is meditation or yoga, playing a muscial instrument, raising children, or going about your daily work, there exists a constant play between the sluggishness of sloth and the brittleness of over-effort.
The next challenge came when it was time to balance my responsibilities. It is a challenge that continues even now. In twenty-first century American culture, having a full schedule is considered a sign of virtue, and taking time to relax, a sign of weakness or sloth. It is nice to feel that our lives are full and purposeful, but living in a state of constant activity, leaving no time to slow down and relax, does not promote balance. Well-practiced habits do not easily fade away. Even after you've stopped pedaling a bicycle, it still coasts along for a while.
What are the signals that you are working too hard? Resentment, tightness, anger, and frustration may be signs that you need to back off your efforts. You may also notice that your breathing is shallow, labored, or erratic. Asana practice is the perfect laboratory to explore the quality of your effort. In each asana, the quality of effort needed will vary. It will also vary from day to day. In order to practice in a balanced way, you must shift your intention from accomplishing the pose to finding and exploring your edge. When your intention in asana practice is to place your head on your knee in a forward bend or to accomplish a more intense backbend, your effort almost always will be too much... you will likely create more tension in the body rather than less. Conversely, when you find your mind always making excuses not to try something new or challenging, your efforts likely are unbalanced in the direction of lethargy. You many need to arouse energy by resolving to move gently and mindfully beyond what you believe your boundaries to be. When you practice with balance in mind, it doesn't matter how your asana looks. A person who is inflexible will receive the same benefit as one who is very flexible. You can practice balance by finding the edge where you feel challenged but where there is still space in the body and mind to relax."
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