Purification and Pain

You've got to get a little uncomfortable if you want any sort of change.

You've got to commit to the process and surrender to the potential pain of fresh starts, hard endings. Breakups, new diet changes, a workout routine -all come with a plethera of both emotional and physical pain. Yet, we seem to view physical pain as something to avoid and emotional pain as something to work through. Asana teaches the importance of both. Like weight lifting, developing strength and endurance in Asana is a brutal process accompanied by fatigue, soreness, inflammation and possible injury. Now go ask any ashtangi and they will probably complain of similar ailments!! But! It's also enriched with self exploration, incredible euphoric moments, deep meditation, and spiritual expansion...

I hear so many students complaining about some perceived barrier in their bodies. So much attention is given to the sore hamstring, the bad back, you name it -someone is crying "woe is me" about it. Sometimes an "injury" can become an identity. Or, we throw words around like "pain" when we really mean "discomfort". As a nurse, I can tell you from experience that a lot of people have the expectation to never feel physical pain at all. The slightest twinge of a headache and they pop an Advil. I have elderly patients who are literally prescribed Tylenol 'round the clock without any complaints of pain! For years!

I can't help but wonder if we are missing the lesson here? We want so badly to detach from our physical bodies. Alcohol, cannabis, caffeine, and other substances fuel our daily lives. What if we just sat with it? Felt the discomfort? Learned what strength felt like?

Learning to lean into potential pain and feeling the support of your body, instead of it's limitations, is the only difference between getting somewhere and staying stagnate.

All postures become deep and complex over time. Life becomes deep and complex over time. Your body isn't holding you back -your mind is.

Come practice sometime