As always, everything that comes through in my yoga practise reflects my life. Recently I've been coming to terms with the fact that there are many things in life that just can't be rushed. One of the things I've always loved about yoga is knowing that if I continue to practise, eventually the fruits will come. It's not about how fast they come; on the contrary, if I was able to do the splits as soon as I hit the yoga mat, where would the satisfaction be?
I still remember the first time I realised I was close to doing the splits, and the first time I managed to do them. I felt like a superhero. It's my dream to be able to do a handstand one day, but at my current practise stage I've hit some kind of a wall with doing a tripod headstand even... so I've got a way to go! But it doesn't matter. Because as long as I stay dedicated I will get there in the end.
My recent gained ability is to arm balances; bakasana (crow pose), astravakasana (eight angle pose) or a flying lizard variation. I've developed this skill through my Rocket Yoga training, which increased my arm strength, along with beginning to train with weights and TRX in the past few months. Four months ago I couldn't have done any of these poses, now I'm really enjoying pushing the ability of my arms.
I told that to my students last night, that I was unable to do these exact poses 4 months ago, and one replied; "you always say that." But it's true. There are many things in life we wish we could possess/figure out/be able to achieve straight away. It's a product of the society we live in; we want instant gratification. But the truth is, life just isn't like that.
There are some things we can achieve straight away, and that's a good feeling too. But often the deepest, most meaningful and profound things that we work towards in our lifetimes don't happen overnight. They take time, emotional and even physical energy. They involve a slow opening up, radical honesty, patience and devotion. They simply can't be rushed.
They involve an evolution, and checking in with the process as it's happening. It's like when a camera follows how a plant moves for 24hours. Without the camera, it's impossible to see, but when it's sped up it becomes clear. That's how our transformations and journeys work. The beauty is when we can find a small, subtle difference as we're within the movement. Or at least acknowledge whatever it is we're doing on that day.
The key is to have belief that the change is happening, even if it's not stark and apparent. Trusting the process, and trusting that without giving up, the end goal will be achieved. The end goal might not even be exactly what we thought it would be like when we started, but when we get there, it will be clear that it was exactly where we were supposed to be heading all along.