Drop Your End of the Rope
We hear a lot about “letting go of your end of the rope” in the context of struggles with other people - but what about the struggles we have within ourselves?
When there’s a constant struggle with another person - a never-ending argument, a power struggle, a push-pull dynamic that always leaves both parties feeling frustrated - we can only control our own actions and reactions. We can stop engaging in the tug-of war by dropping our end of the rope and letting go of our need to come out on top. Our release changes the dynamic and allows a neutral space to settle where we can start to understand and accept each other for who we are.
But, how do you drop your end of the rope when you’re holding both ends? Well, the same rule of thumb applies.
In yoga practice, the mind is often in conflict with the body. Maybe we’re in pain and frustrated because poses don’t feel as accessible as they usually do; or we’re fighting with a pose that’s asking for more strength or flexibility than we have; or energy is low and we find ourselves struggling to “keep up” with vinyasa. Whether it’s a mental reaction (self-talk or judgment) or an emotional reaction (frustration, anger), our reaction is the end of the rope that we can choose to drop.
Yoga is union of mind and body, which means being present within your body. Being present in practice is about meeting your body where it is: saying hello, asking what it needs, giving it what it needs. This requires assessing, moment to moment, what you’re feeling in your body and aligning your mind’s intention with your body’s intention.
When we’re still developing strength or flexibility - i.e., we’re really tight in places or weak in places - we drop the rope when we stop wanting to go deeper, and simply engage with the pose in the way we’re currently able to. Knees down for plank push-ups or using a prop to assist us in the pose - we enable to body to feel the pose in the way it’s ready to, with an intention of accessing the benefits of the pose vs the intention of performing the pose. The shift in intention is what releases the struggle.
When the body is in pain or is injured, yoga can feel especially frustrating - IF your mind is trying to override your body! By shifting your focus to giving yourself what you truly need, yoga becomes a healing process. Moving slower and more mindfully, taking poses in stages to assess how the injured area feels, BREATHING into the parts of your body that are in pain, creating union instead of conflict, allowing the body and mind to become allies - this is the practice of yoga.
Remember, when your find yourself struggling during practice, take a hard look at how your mind and body are communicating. Feel your way into each pose; listen to your body when it tells you to stop, and breathe into whatever sensations arise. Honor your body with your practice instead of fighting it.