Last night...

..... my teacher said something in class that hit me real good. She said many incredible things, as she is priestess/warrior/sage/yogini, but this one thing stood out in particular:

"By giving up thinking about how things should be, we can get present to how things actually are."

Simple, no? In that instance, she was referring specifically to asana, how, so often, as we are going through the physical motions in yoga class, we get so caught up in how we look: how our pose compares to the person next to us; how, jeez, I've been practicing this pose for years, why can't I just touch my toes/lift my leg higher/stretch my hamstrings et al a little farther; how, if I could just push my foot a little farther or suck my gut in a little more, I would be better... before we know it, we've gotten so caught up in "shoulding" ourselves that we've missed out on the pose completely.

I'm telling you, this blew my mind. I've heard this before but last night, it dug in a little more. Sometimes it's the seemingly simplest of teachings that hit the deepest.

I should all over myself all the damn time... and not just on my yoga mat.

I should have more money saved.

I should be working harder!

I shouldn't eat/drink/smoke/try/indulge/desire/trust/say that. I definitely shouldn't wear that...

I should feel more passion for my job.

I should already be farther along my path than where I am.

I should be more productive!

Sound familiar? The list could go on and on.

My teacher has this uncanny ability to speak to exactly what is going on in our lives--a little three second blurb in an hour and a half class has the ability to pierce right through the bullshit and hit me right where I need it most.

When we come to our mats at the beginning of our practice, but also as we initiate every pose, the first step is to soften simply to what is; open ourselves to the bigger picture, expand our perspective, and accept what is in front of us. Then, into that spaciousness, we organize our bodies in such a way that is optimal, regardless of body type, past injury, pain, and so on. Closing our eyes, breathing deeply, maybe the deepest you've ever breathed before, we drop out of our busy brains and into our bodies, and it is in this sweet spot that yoga occurs.

What I'm trying to say is that we already put enough pressure on ourselves in this foot-always-on-the-gas-pedal culture of ours; yoga doesn't have to be yet another masochistic activity we cram ourselves through. We practice getting present to and creating space around the physical postures during yoga class in the hopes that one day, that presence will trickle over into our "real lives." Once this starts to happen, our experience of life starts to shift, and we create space there too- around our relationships, in our careers, with our creative ideas and projects, and our daily interactions start to flow from this place of space, and we are no longer living at the mercy of habitual patterns and reactions.

What I'm trying to say is, be kinder. Yes, to everyone around you, but first, to your sweet sweet self. Our time is so valuable--don't waste it spending time with the should monster. Enjoy the people in your life-really take time to sit down and listen to them. Go for walks. Touch the things around you. Lay down in the grass. Move your body!

I'm excited to have this little teaching be my guiding light for the next cycle; my practice is going to be, when I catch my self "shoulding," I'm going to stop whatever I'm doing and take 10 long, deep, soulful breaths. I would love for you to join me.

And for you cynics, another nice side effect of the practice is long, leaner muscles, and a stronger core from the inside out. But don't take it from me, try it yourself!

Where do you should yourself? What other practices do you take to ground or return to the present?