1”
There is a yogic phase that goes something like, “The best way is one leaf at a time”.
The concept is rooted in the idea that so often we want to tackle these big monumental tasks, projects or goals and achieve NOW. But in actuality, it is a task that needs to be taken one leaf at a time. Yes, I would love to move every leaf on that tree, but the only way is one leaf at a time. Yes, I would love to achieve my big audacious goal. But it weighs too much.
5 hours
This phrase is then shifted to “one inch at a time” when it comes to the terms of our practice. If we move one inch longer, one inch deeper, one inch farther, soon we have deepened our practice. This goes for mindfulness, asana practice or life! If we allow ourselves to move incrementally, then overtime we will strengthen and we will achieve the peak of our ambitions.
This past weekend we had a monumental snow storm. We received 33 inches of snow and 50 mile an hour winds over the course of 36 hours. It was round after round of shoveling, you would head out to shovel the latest six inches and by the time you came back to the porch, it looked as if you had done nothing.
Yet, had you?
What if you did nothing?
36 hours
There are many people who struggled one inch at a time to keep up and dig out, but there are also people who did nothing for three days and now are looking at the mountain of snow and drifts and thinking- “I can’t do this!” Because honestly, they can’t! They are not strong enough to move that much snow. They cannot push the piles far enough or lift the weight. It is now too much.
If they had practiced one inch at a time, they could have. Are my shoulders, back and legs tired? Of course! But, did we do it, are we able to now move about, yes. Today, in class we again practiced one inch at a time. Every pose was deepening one inch farther, and lengthening one inch longer. We stretched our sore bodies and mindfully acknowledged the strength of our abilities.
I know that at times a task is beyond measure, but maybe, just maybe, what you really need to do is start with just one inch.
This Week’s A Door Within:
What is my big audacious challenge?
How could I break it down into one inch sections?
What will strengthen along the way?
♥ Ashley
