I have written before about the need to find by steadiness and ease, sthira and sukha, in my yoga practice. Yesterday it dawned on me just how much this concept applies to other aspects of my life. I have been working these past months on being strong enough to do the Divine Work I am called to with ease and grace, and this answer was just before my eyes the whole time.
I have already dug into the idea that part of my sense of "pain" when I do deep work is that I don't always have vocabulary to describe the sensations I feel without classing them as pain. I also dug into the idea that I somehow needed to have this look difficult or painful in order for others to believe in the experiences I was having. In both cases I have reached a place where I understand that neither idea is true: sensation can be just a message saying, "look here", and I do not need to look like I'm in pain to be believed.
Nonetheless, when I am deep in the work of listening to my Guides I still scrunch up my face and feel tension in my head, neck shoulders, and body. That tension certainly can result in actual pain sensations, but I really want for others to see the Joy that this Work and Commitment entail rather than see it as a burden or punishment.
So, there I was in yoga, relaxing my face as I attempted an advanced pose that my instructor joking referred to as a "circus pose"...and then it struck me that the practice of intentionally relaxing my face, my eyes, my jaw, my neck, while still holding my core strong, of sthira and sukha, was directly practicing for the relaxed opening that would lead to my growing to encompass the scope of the Work before me with ease and joy.
Sthira and sukha, steadiness and ease, may we all open to this peace.
Namaste
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