Compromise? For what?! On Yoga and Eartha Kitt

Have been talking about this video clip  (also below) a lot lately!

Feel it´s important to remind ourselves about the importance of the relationship we have with ourselves and putting that first. when it comes to our yoga practice, especially the physical aspect, sometimes feelings of inadequacy can creep up and make us feel we should look or be a certain way. it might sound like this: i should be able to: touch my toes/tie myself in a knot/ do *insert said pose here* just like some picture shows. often this kind of attitude leads to injury and more disconnection. the brain farts over everything else and we become driven by the insignificant competitiveness which widens the gap of separation. separation from ourselves. read: we get distracted morphing into something we think we should be/do/have.

Could we perhaps move from our own levels of sensation rather than feel the need to compare ourselves to anyone or anything as a measure of whether we have “done yoga” or not? to get out of it being a brain-based, head-dominated thing and let the body do it´s thing instead? it´s pretty clever, the body, as it goes. it knows that point where we should back off a bit, when it´s feeling full of beans and when to rest and recuperate. If only we listen and respect it enough.

This “treating ourselves right” or “self care” or “listening” or “common sense behaviour” (call it what you want) prevents us from hurting ourselves. and from humble times spent on the mat, this is something i urge us not to compromise.

Not to want to sound vague and too etherial, but time spent doing stuff that helps us out of brain farts, such as the practice of getting to know ourselves and  listening to ourselves, gives us the opportunity to understand ourselves better. when we can understand ourselves better we can move more consciously from a more centred, connected place as we go about our business.

Eartha puts it much more eloquently and with more spicy seasoning. In this context, she´s talking about relationships and love, but the message is the same. Don´t compromise yourself for anyone. This isn´t about being a jerk for the sake of it, rather, understanding that there is no other you. so you have that duty to be you. so indulge it, enjoy it, so that others can enjoy it too.

(and they can´t enjoy it if you´re injured and miserable trying to be something you´re not, right? right.)

(also, apols to anyone who doesn´t enjoy the word, “fart”. i don´t either, hence why i´m using it. and if there are any Norwegians reading this, “fart” in this context does not mean “speed”. but i guess that could work too. peace and peas x)