We can all pretend that we never have experiences like these but it is simply not true. Every once in a while, life throws us a curve ball of such intense proportions that it knocks the wind out of us. Most of us do our best to get back up -- and rightly so. But how about those times when each time you get some footing -- BAM! -- down you go? Enough of those in a row and pretty soon your either too tired or too gun-shy to try to stand up again. The only option that seems available is curling up in a ball and hiding from the world.
Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not advocating this condition as a high-caliber life philosophy nor am I wishing it upon you. I'm just pointing out that in the course of living life, we sometimes feel, look and act ignobly. Although most people comprehend this phenomenon as part of the human experience, when confronted with their own defeat, they feel like they shouldn't be downtrodden or confused. How do I know? I am one of them.
But we would do well to find acceptance in this place -- you know, "acceptance," also known by its less glamorous names as resignation, surrender, crying uncle, throwing in the towel -- for the simple reason that pretending we have hope or motivation or vision when we do not yields some very inauthentic results.
This blog post on Elephant Journal by author Julie Peters beautifully describes the power behind "lying broken in a pile on your bedroom floor" and how it is this precise condition in which we can find genuine choice. Our yoga practice can be a great teacher in this venture. The first of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is Atha Yoganushasanam, which I will loosely translate into English as "Begin." And why not? The plain truth is this: you can try to fool yourself all you want, but there is nowhere to begin but exactly where you are.
Join me for yoga this week (warrior spirits and pathetic cowards both welcome).
Home studio, North Hollywood: Tuesdays 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 10:30 a.m., Sundays 10 a.m.
Burbank YMCA: Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m., Fridays 10 a.m., Saturdays 8:30 a.m.
For more information about classes, email me or visit the class schedule on the Yoga Bits blog.
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And I'm not talking about giving up as it is depicted in the movies -- where the battered heroine survives some kind of Armageddon and uses her rage to overcome the evil forces of destruction. I'm talking about the ugly, dishonorable, chicken-shit kind of giving up. The kind that no one wants to write stories about. The kind that makes you ashamed of yourself.