Friday, February 27, 2009

Spiritual Martinis


I have to say this. There's just no two ways about it and it's driving me crazy. Yes, the work life woman is going crazy. WE HAVE GOT TO QUIT TREATING ATTENDING TO OUR WELLBEING AS A "SHOULD".

I'm observing this in so many venues - from corporate clients to my Linked In Corporate Yogis Group, there is a major consensus that attending to ourselves is a should - like shoveling mashed asparagus into the clamped lips of a three year old. Join the group then look at the comments, and if that's not enough for you email me and I'll forward a bunch of emails members have sent me lamenting meditation programs not well attended, yoga classes with a constantly rotating cast of characters, not to mention comments from employees who already have a yoga practice saying they want to keep their practice separate from their work.

I scratch my head in wonder. We KNOW we feel better when we treat ourselves well physically. We KNOW we perform better when we take actions in support of our clarity, restedness, and intention. We KNOW that we make better choices when we have done the other two. So why do we treat these actions as a grudging luxury, an indulgence for the weak, or something we would do if we weren't so martyred by the demands of our lives? Haven't we learned yet from successful people that tending to yourself is a discipline that breeds success? Don't you WANT to be successful?

And to those folks with a practice that want to keep it separate - bringing yoga into your life is the point of yoga! Ever read the Bhagavad-Gita? The whole thing is about how we cannot separate our spirit from our participation in our duties in the world. Ever think about the first Yoga Sutra - it's the cessation of fluctuations in the mind. And guess what makes those fluctuations happen? OUR TIME IN THE WORLD.

Look, as crazy as I am with this rant I'd be even more crazy to deny that yoga is a fantastic pressure valve and escape hatch. But people, look at the world around us. There are not enough blissful moments in the day for us to counterbalance the stress factors present. What's even more, if you can learn to feel yoga ANYWHERE, why the heck wouldn't you? What good is it really doing you in that studio with that nice lady cooing to you and telling you where to put your foot if you're resistant to having it be a part of your life and not just an escape from it??? As a yoga teacher, I can tell you what part of your body from which to remove your head.

If you don't have a practice of some sort - get one. Now. The sooner the better. I strongly believe that if more of us were using practices that foster intentionality and connection to the world, we might not be in the situation we are in right now. If you do have a practice - YIPPEE. But then you have to ask yourself - am I using this as a key aspect of how I conduct my life or is it really just a spiritual martini?

After all, drunk is drunk.

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