Effort & Ease

The ancient yoga teachings tell us that in each posture we should feel equal effort and equal ease. Sometimes we push ourselves into a posture with sheer determination and a force that is superhuman.  Is it worth it?  What if we soften, wind it back a little, and then reengage to a healthy degree?  Will we feel a bit better, more centered?

Life is so similar to time on the mat.  How often have you worked a little too hard at something, maybe even forced it a bit, over-doing it, only to learn that the end results are a lot more pleasant with a bit less effort?

There is of course, the flip side, not making the effort.  Sometimes we are afraid to start, to dive in, to take the risk of beginning something new.  We might even inflate whatever it is to seem insurmountable.  Is it?  What if you took those first couple of steps?  Wouldn’t you feel the ease of being more aligned with your intentions; and isn’t traveling toward your goals a form of self compassion?

I went for a walk in the cemetery this weekend and visited the grave of a beautiful and spiritual woman I once worked with.  Her gravestone read, “Love life enuf to struggle.”  I’m not sure what the misspelling or the story behind it was.  But there will always be a struggle, and we should embrace it.  Allow that effort in, and rejoice in the ease, the softening; the trick is to try to find them both at the same time.