LIVING YOGICALLY: Whassup dawg?
Not much just chillin!
Hahaha that is a joke my friend Ben likes to tell. Ben is one of the funniest human beings alive. He waits till the room gets silent and then starts to make sniffing noises, as if he smells a mysterious odor or is a police dog investigating a crime scene. He would make these noises with a confused look on this face and say:
Ben: Hey Nat do you smell that?
Me: Smell what?
Ben: I don’t know but it kinda smells like up dog.
Me: Up dog? What is up dog?
(Ben’s laughter)
Ben: Not much just chillin!
Urrrggh I can’t believe I fell for that silly joke. We both burst into laughter.
Well Ben 3 years later and I finally have a witty come back for you.
What is up dog? Well, up dog aka upward facing dog aka urdhva mukha svanasana is a yoga posture that I use in every class I teach. For you seasoned yogis reading you know that upward facing dog is one of the positions in the traditional sun salutation sequence. You can also practice this pose individually but I rarely do. For those of you that need a refresher below is the beautiful Claudia (a friend and fellow yoga teacher at De La Sol) doing a demo.
One day mid-flow, I noticed that I rush through my urdhva mukha svanasana because I can’t wait to arrive in the restful, glorious adho mukha svanasana aka downward facing dog pose. So this week in my yoga practice and teaching I focused on paying particular attention to this transitional, often rushed through posture. I tried to hold upward facing dog but realized that I lacked the patience to hold the posture for longer than a breath.
Patience is a virtue- a virtue that I have a hard time with. When my impatience takes over, both on and off my mat, I always try to remind myself that things take time and will reveal themselves eventually. When I notice myself rushing I silently tell myself to slow down.
With instant oatmeal, instant scratch tickets, instant messaging, yoga-in- 10 minutes-or-less, abs-in 6 minutes-or-less, and instant pain relief it is hard to remember most things that are special are not quick. They need to unfold at their own pace and rushing them will just foul everything up. Anyone who has painted their house knows what I am talking about. Rushing creates a big fat mess.
Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you. -John De Paola
We are all at the beginning of a transition. Mother Nature’s upward facing dog- spring. In my eyes, spring is just the transition from cold winter into glorious summer. During this time I am usually just praying for summer to begin. Well at least that is how I use to look at it. Not this year! In my quest to live yogically I am going to embrace this transition and not just use this time as merely a countdown to something bigger, brighter and warmer- summer. By me rushing through spring and being numb to all its glorious aspects I am missing out on a lot. I vow to have the patience this spring to slow down, open my eyes to its beauty, and not just want to barrel through it like a mall speed walker or a charging bull. I need to stay present and not wish to be instantly gratified by summer. Let us honor and celebrate all the transitions in our lives- spring, upward facing dog, a new job, a relationship status, or whatever else we face that is in a transitional phase. Be present through every transition. Don’t ignore all the amazing things transitions have to offer and have to teach. Transitions are no joking matter.
Enjoyment is the sweetness of noticing your life right now – smell, taste, feeling, sensation. -The Yoga Sutras
Peace, peace, peace
NAT
NEXT WEEK! Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?
Lovely post Nat! I have a hard time with both spring and transitions. I too wait for warmer days and bomby nights forgetting about what is now. Last year I undertook and simple ‘project’ to remind me of slow growth – u can try it if u like. Every day I took a picture of the same flower from sprout o bloom and it was remarkable to see the transition from dirt to daffodil. Everytime I look at them I’m reminded to slow down, find my roots, reconnect to what I really need vs want and know that it will all unfold in time.nnThanks for writing this and helping me to reconnect to this lovely season of spring 🙂
Thanks Sara! That is beautiful. Such a great idea!
I hear ya sister!! Once I get to where I need to be I always rush through it as well. Thanks for the reminder, this is going to be my personal focus as well!!
Yes wait for the good stuff Lena…what leads up to spain is just going to be as great as Spain …I promise 😉
Good topic Nat! Living in the moment… I’m in the midst of learning this hugely important lesson right now! nAlso kind of ironic that it snowed today after such a long period of mild weather– I was so annoyed by it when I saw a layer of white this morning, then I read your post and thought: dammit, embrace it Jess, embrace it!! No snow will stop us from dressing in skanky cougar-esque outfits to celebrate this weekend!
hahah awesome. I know driving to work I was like be patient Nat (as I told about 5 cars to go fork themselves) I know be present wait for this weekend!!! woooooo xo
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really needed this today, this was so inspirational. Today I felt like I was literally running out of breath trying to achieve instant gratification. Thanks for reminding me that hard work pays off with perseverence but most importantly patience, and time…..( hopefully by May 21 to be exact ) nnLove your post,nnNancy
yes yes one step at a time…or one salsa step you firecracker!!! xo
well said sister! xo
THANKS NAT
It’s ironic how when we try to do stuff, we always end up doing the opposite of what we want to do.nWhen I try to be patient, I say in my head “be patient, be patient, don’t hurry, patient, PATIENCE DAMMIT, why can’t I be patient!”nnTry this. pepperoni pizza.nNow close your eyes for the next 30 seconds and don’t think of that pepperoni pizza or have a rough idea of it in your mind.nDid you see think of a pepperoni pizza when you were closing your eyes?
Try this…. when closing your eyes look to where you think the tip of your nose is (with eyes still closed) Ya no more pizza is there! But ya I get it. It is hard to ignore the thinking mind….especially when you name something as great as pizza! mmmm n90% of our thoughts are repetitive- isnt that crazy!
Oh I just reread what I wrote…I really dont like the word “ignore ” I used. Correction- not get attached to !
how about instead of ignore, use the word “detach from” it’s less wordy than “not get attached to”nnBTW: looking at the tip of your nose actually works XD !
because detach from means you are already attached