Real Stories

Last week, I had a moment in class that reminded me how often we create stories in our minds that aren't based in reality.

A student came in and set up a mat for a friend who was running late, but I didn’t know this. As the class started, the mat remained empty. As my students went through a few rounds of Surya Namaskar by themself, I went downstairs to check on the bathrooms. I saw one door closed and assumed someone was in there. When no one responded to my knock, I began to weave a whole story about what was happening. I imagined an emergency, needing to call an ambulance, maybe even canceling class. My mind went into a little overdrive.

Eventually, I paused the class in a convenient pose and asked the class about the empty mat, and the student admitted her friend hadn’t shown up. In that instant, the entire narrative I’d created disappeared. It was a reminder of how easily we can create stories—about ourselves, about situations, and especially about our yoga practice.

In yoga, we often carry stories about what we can and can’t do, what we like or dislike, and what our limitations are. But every time we step onto the mat, we have a chance to reframe these stories. We can listen closely to our body and breath and ask, “Is this story still true? Has something changed?”

One of my teachers says it is like drawing a circle and then erasing it, only to draw it again with the new information you have. The practice is about continuously waking up to what’s true in the moment, letting go of old stories, and allowing new ones to emerge.