November 2022
As November ushers in cooler weather and plans for the upcoming seasons build, I continue to lean into my practices to support grounding and balance in my day-to-day experience of body and mind.
Recently while on the mat, I was prompted to set an intention for practice. Two words appeared in consciousness. Easy & Strong. Which shifted to Strength and Ease. Nursing a shoulder strain but needing to feel movement in my body, I called upon myself to take the practice easy but simultaneously to feel my strength. This laid the foundation for a very powerful practice honoring my full being in the moment and recognizing how my strength is not all about the physical but also my ability to practice ease.
This has become my Mantra for the month. Strength and Ease. Recognizing them and their importance in one another.
Strength and Ease are often thought of as polar opposites. Something can not be easy and strong at the same time. We are taught that in order to be strong we have to push, work hard, and resist. That strength has to be tough, rigid and hard. But I think we are looking at this all wrong. Anything that is too rigid, too straight can crack and snap. True strength comes from flexibility & pliability. To truly know strength, to stand fully in ourselves, there has to be a sense of ease in the heart and trust in the mind. There needs to be a willingness to see the rough edges of the self, the places we push or hide from and to bring grace and awareness there. The true strength becomes our ability to honor all parts of ourselves and not be controlled by our judgments or expectations.
We can practice this in so many different ways. In our physical practice, we can acknowledge and feel our strength through breath, posture, and movement while at the same time bringing ease into our practice knowing that it is nurturing the body and mind through awareness and mindfulness. To be strong, we don’t have to “muscle through” all the time. Often the practice of strength needs to be taking it easy, and quieting ourselves enough to listen to what is truly needed.
We can also practice this in our relationships. If we are challenged or frustrated by something or someone who may have different opinions or tastes than us, we can approach the situation with confidence in our own truth and stand strong in ourselves. Practicing ease in these challenging situations is practicing compassion, a recognition that we do not always know where another person is coming from in experience, tradition, education, or culture. Pushing for our truth to be the right truth can often result in that cracking or breaking. Approaching differences with ease instead of force can often result in learning and growth. Being strong in your heart and easeful in your practice can be a lot of hard work in and of itself!
My encouragement to you this month is to be mindful of the places in your life where you tend to use strength without ease. Where you find friction, agitation, and pushing - can you work to bring awareness and ease into these places? I encourage you to evaluate what strength is to you and what brings you ease. And then to see if they can be practiced together to help bring grounding and balance.
Like a stone washed over and over by the tide
It remains strong
yet becomes smooth
with the forever-changing fluidity
of its surroundings
Love love love