I learnt something really interesting during my yoga class on the weekend. Instead of concentrating on the poses we worked on how we got there; we looked at transitions. And when you’re carrying plenty of extra weight like me, that’s often harder than actually doing a pose!
So I put my focus on the in-between parts – what was I thinking about as I was moving slowly from this pose to that? What I kept noticing was that there was this little rush to be in the pose; this fervent belief that the achievement of the pose was the prize, totally dismissing the getting there part.
It struck me that in life off the yoga mat we seem so hell-bent and so driven to the big goals of the day, the week, or the year, that it’s easy to forget the small things – the transitions, the spaces and the pauses – which can add such richness to our lives.
That holiday can wait until I’ve lost 10kgs, I’ll date when I become a size whatever but the daily spaces in between are left forlorn like they are insignificant, rather than potentially important.
For example, when you commute to work, how do you do it? Is it a necessary evil? A space where you sit in passive or brainless stasis, waiting for the next thing, ie to hit your desk and actually start working? Or can you find some elegance and use of that time and space? Can you make a plan, fill those moments with the motivation by words or music, decide on a couple of healthy meals, text a friend to meet you for a walk or take two steps towards a new career?
Trying sucking the marrow out of those moments! I’ve noticed it’s often in those times when we have some of our best ideas and find the steely resolve to keep going – or choose a new path. Washing my hair and doing the dishes often brings me great ideas when I pay attention and am in the moment rather than always being 10 steps ahead mentally.
Find the elegance in the spaces!
(Sometimes Sarah is a Perth gal with a weight loss goal of over 60 kg who’ll be sharing the good, the bad and the sometimes painful on her own weight loss and fitness journey.)
A note from Caitlin:
Well said Sarah… I could not agree more!!