Practice Interruptus

Hello Friends!

Here's a question: what do you do when it feels like your practice is going to hell in a handbasket? And you can define that anyway you'd like:

-I don't have time to practice

-I'm frustrated with/by/from (insert reason here)

-I'm not as motivated

-I can't find a yoga teacher/studio/style I like

-I stopped and I can't make myself start again

-I'm injured

You get the picture. I've recently been struggling with my own practice. This past month I haven't been practicing as intensely as I have for the last year, I can feel the difference in my practice, and I don't like it.

It doesn't really matter why we allow disruption to our practice. In my case, my good friend Patrick, a local yoga teacher and my yoga practice buddy, broke his arm. We have been practicing together for a year and a half or so, and it's been great. We like the same crazy stuff, we both like to work hard, and we have a similar enthusiasm for the practice. I have been looking forward to practicing with Pat for 18 months, when suddenly last month, he could not practice. UGH. I've been practicing, but it hasn't been the same. It was different when I had someone to push me, inspire me and hold me accountable on the days I didn't really feel like it. And things have been a bit lackluster for the last month as a result.

I've had all the normal feelings about it- frustration, annoyance, disappointment with myself; but I've also looked for the lessons in this experience.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

1.There is an ebb and flow to life, and therefore to the practice-on all levels. So don't be lazy, but don't beat yourself up either. Do your best to keep it together during the less ideal times, and things will come back around- they always do.
2.A yoga practice is personal, individual and about svadyaya (self-study), so it's best not to let it get too wrapped up in another person, their practice, or their existence. Yoga is personal. It is about Self-realization, not "Selves" - realization.
With those lessons in mind, it's healthy and fun to practice with one or more people. It's good to connect with other humans, and despite the requisite lip service to no competition in yoga, if everyone else is trying something, you 'll probably try stuff you wouldn't try if left to your own devices. And that's a good thing for personal growth.

Connecting and interacting with others is uniquely human, and it's where all the real yoga happens. Just make sure the practice is ultimately about and for you in a way that serves your spiritual development --with or without the company. Even though it would be so much simpler if enlightenment were about leg variations in handstand, it really has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with polishing the diamond of the soul and shining the light of the intellect upon it to reveal the beauty of its facets.

So put your efforts into your own inner practice, using the tools you have acquired thus far, with the most consistent work you can muster, and let no one or no circumstance deter you from the most important work you can do-revealing your true Self.

I hope to see you soon!
Consistently Yours,

Liz