Dissolve New Year’s Resolutions On and off the Mat

(Published in Open Doors Canton January 2021 Newsletter)

Life is harder these days and the holidays feel different. Everything feels different. There are days or weeks I’m holding myself together by a slim thread, waiting for the moment I can unravel my tensions on my mat. Once there, I fall into the familiar rhythm and flow of breath and movement. The frayed fabric of my mind

calms and the shaky ground beneath my hands and feet steadies.

As the New Year rolls around, it is customary to make resolutions. A different year, calls for a different approach: why not resolve to dissolve resolutions? This is a very yogic idea. The teachings of yoga encourage us to detach from our expectations and surrender to our struggles. They also teach us to practice non-self judgment as a principle of non-harming or Ahimsa. Hasn’t the year been hard enough without pressure to push ourselves to do something extra extraordinary? I’d like to order up a big helping of ordinary with a side dish of hum-drum.

Five ways to release expectations and practice self-acceptance in your yoga practice:

1. Expand your awareness of breath control: Try one Pranayama (breathing) practice you have never tried before and give yourself permission to experience it without getting it “right”. Release any attachment to the outcome. Be prepared to feel uncomfortable and stay with it until it feels more natural. Suggestion: Kapalbhati or “Skull Shining Breath” to clear out the old year and ring in the new. Or Alternate Nostril Breathing for a more balanced entry into the coming year.

2. Find space in your day for a few minutes of stillness: Sit in your favorite chair with feet firmly placed on the floor with a tall spine or lay down on your yoga mat. Turn your cell phone to airplane mode and close the lid to your laptop. Set a timer. See what happens when you tune out distractions and observe your thoughts, body and breath as though you are watching a movie. Feeling fidgety? Stretch before hand with a few yoga poses to work out the wiggles. If you miss a day or two, forgive yourself and do it the next day without judging yourself for the lapse.

3. Return to the Beginning: Whether you are new to yoga or an advanced practitioner, assume the mindset of a beginner in your next yoga class. Listen closely to cues and feel them with intense awareness in your body as though you are hearing them for the first time. Play with props, straps and different variations of the sequences you usually do automatically. Practice Down Dog or Plank with blocks under your hands or Dancer at the wall. In balance poses, lighten up and intentionally fall out of Tree pose. Imagine what you would say to support a friend who is just beginning to learn yoga and say those words to yourself.

4. Switch gears in your usual style and approach: Are you the kind of person who navigates your life at full throttle and with maximum intensity? Ease up on yourself. Build in one Child’s Pose halfway through class and experience what it’s like to intentionally stop to recoup. Are you the student who shies away from challenge because you fear failure and embarrassment? Take an online class, turn off your video and try the poses that evade you. Attempt your elusive Crow Pose without attachment to “nailing it”. Congratulate yourself on your attempt even when you plop face first onto a pillow.

5. Explore affirmations embracing acceptance of your true self: Detach from the influence of negative labels that float into your mind during yoga practice. Quitter, Wimp, Scare-die Cat, Restless Randy… "What we think we become, “ said Buddha. Counteract them with affirmations such as “ I am perfectly imperfect” and “My best effort is always best”. As you step into the New Year, step onto your mat with less pressure and more positive perceptions about the purpose of your practice.