Yoga. What better way to get in the groove? After all, what’s yoga if you don’t “ground” yourself? Feet planted, solid into the, well…ground.
But maybe the studio is more perfect than I could ever imagine…
Last night the studio was HOT--flaming from the get go. Ok. I’ve done hot.
The room was crowded—40+. I placed my mat next to a yogini I didn’t know. Immediately she leaned over and asked me to move my mat further away, as we might touch (!). Bam—a little knocked off that ground. I was distracted by negative feelings…until someone set their mat on my other side along with a medicine chest of lotions, keys, purse, oils...and again my ground was disturbed.
How perfect was that? People surrounding me who continued to push me off center (as if they could single handedly affect my balance). But somehow they did.
As this hot , sloppy yoga practice evolved, things got messier—yogis moving about when others were balancing—a flow of people leaving class--distractions galore.
You’d think I’m going to say, in all this chaos, I found my ground. But NO! I found something far more important for me. I found my groundlessness.
What? I achieved groundlessness.
What I stumbled across--literally, was being knock off my feet—pushed to and fro by fellow yogis— and what resulted was fairly astounding:
Maybe this groundlessness was something to be EMBRACED.
No really…predictable has its place. But as a creative being—being grounded can mean being mired in the familiar. Maybe even being stuck. Yes, it’s comfortable. But consider the other option: FLIGHT!
Perhaps being groundless—means taking off. Finding new destinations. Soaring even.
So this excitement over being groundless became my yoga dessert.
Pema Chodron speaks a lot about being groundless and the value of it. About RELAXING into the uncertainty of life. To let go of the queasy feelings and enjoy the ride—a freeing up that may open you to awe and wonder.
In fact, Pema believes most spiritual experience begin with being in those unfettered, groundless, maybe even frightening places.
So here is the challenge. The opportunity:
Can you live your life by embracing your anxiety and fear—living in each moment as a new fresh place. If you have a choice, can you choose uncertainty. Is there room for you to soar—to take flight to a new, uncharted place?
Who isn’t even a little afraid of flying. And yet that adrenaline rush of being in flight, literally and figuratively is exhilarating. Yes, flying—testing your wings—going to the unknown—exploring the world—AND yourself. Why do we fight that?
So next time you are feeling anxiety—know that it’s probably a signal that you have made a choice to go different. You can always go back to the familiar, the grounded—it’s a path well worn that will be there if you need it-- but isn’t it just kind of a wonderful thought to be a Christopher Columbus in your own new world?
Namaste’