The Gift of Discomfort

So often we are trapped in the familiarity of our routines and habits. A few weeks ago after teaching a yoga class, a student came up to me and said: “Thank you for taking me out of my comfort zone.” It was a powerful reminder to me of what this practice of yoga can do. It is a practice in which we deliberately put ourselves into discomfort. If we don't do it deliberately on the mat life will humble us by putting us out of our comfort zone when we least expected it. To experience discomfort in our yoga practice doesn't always mean to do hard poses, it can also mean to do something that we've never done before, don't know, or understand yet. Through the practice of yoga, which is a path to self-knowledge, we begin to explore who we are, and who we are not. We begin to pay attention to our habits and tendencies, cravings, and aversions. We get to observe how we talk to ourselves in certain poses, witnessing the ebb and flow of our breath and thoughts. Through the practice, we unify breath, mind and body. As we participate and gift the practice with focus again and again, showing up with the same enthusiasm that we had on the first day, we might eventually gain insight into who we are at the core. Insight into what we are, what we are not, what we like, and what we don't like. We will not always receive what we want, but if we are willing to listen it will always give us what we need.