Yoga Journal USA — February 2018

YOGAJOURNAL.COM / 12 / FEBRUARY 2018

How to go with the f low

ON A HOT DAY LAST SUMMER,

I was teaching in an old brewery

turned yoga studio in Berlin, Germa-

ny. It was sweltering outside, and

there were no fans or air conditioning

in the building, so we opened all the

tiny windows that lined the walls.

As I settled in to teach to a packed

room, we heard a steady, loud ham-

mering on the old roof right next door.

It wasn’t the kind of noisy machinery

you’d hear in a big city like New York;

it was just a couple of guys on the roof,

pounding away all morning.

As you can imagine, the room

wasn’t exactly feeling settled. While

it would have been nice if those work-

ers stopped banging, that isn’t how

life works, is it? It’s hard to get every-

thing lined up just right all the time—

everything arranged just the way

we like it so that we can finally be

relaxed and content.

For years, I’ve listened to students

explain why they can’t do certain

poses. The reasons are always essen-

tially the same: My core is too weak,

my hips are too tight ... you get the

point. The undertone is always hope

that once the obstacle goes away,

something better will take its place.

Of course, when that better thing

happens, there will be another elu-

sive obstacle that is hypothetically

making something else unattainable,

and so on. The result? We end up full

of craving and dissatisfaction rather

than joy.

Yes, your yoga practice does offer

adjustments for refining your experi-

ence and making you feel a bit more

comfy. For example, if you’re feeling

Wish you were

better able to accept

hot and cold, noisy

and silent, joy and

sorrow? Cyndi Lee

shows us how.

continued on page 14

DHARMA TALK

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