Pendulum
“It’s easy to fall
into the trap of thinking the holidays are about giving and receiving presents
or attending parties, but it’s really small, quiet acts of gratitude that
cultivate connection.” –Brené Brown
pen·du·lum
ˈpenjələm,ˈpendyə-/
noun
1.
a weight hung from a
fixed point so that it can swing freely backward and forward.
Traditionally, and, by that I mean over the
last few thousand years, this time of year represents a season of turning in,
quieting, as the pendulum swings freely from the brightest, virile days of
summer to the darkest, quietest days of winter. Our ancestors relied on this rhythm to ensure
the continuation of life: plant, grow, harvest, rest. We still need this rhythm
to enable health in our bodies, in our families, and in our communities.
What I often observe, in my yoga circles, in
my friends’ and family’s lives, really rides to the other end of the pendulum.
What I see, even more than the physical doing, doing, doing of gift buying,
decorating, parties, recitals, increased work load etc, etc, is the mental
equivalent: “If I just give the perfect gift, throw the perfect party, have the
perfect outfit, make the perfect cookie, have the most meaningful encounter
with a salvation army bell ringer, then I will feel
happy/satisfied/blessed/enough.” This is
not necessarily something to change outside of our selves, although that may
follow, but rather an internal
downshifting.
Recently, it seems I’m having a recurring
conversation with students and potential students around their experiences with
“hot yoga” or “power yoga” or P90x yoga – it seems this lack of balance is even
creeping into the realm of yoga exercise. One reviewer noted that in the P90x
version of yoga exercise, “savasana (the deep relaxation and integration that
seals each yoga practice) is included, but only lasts one minute, possibly because that is
the longest (the instructor) can bear to stop talking.”
My hope is that we can free the pendulum
again to swing in the direction of balance: in our yoga offerings, in our
families, and in our minds. Can we allow the momentary discomfort of shifting
to neutral while we give our bodies a chance to breathe, our minds a chance to
quiet, and our hearts a chance to rest? This so that we can turn ever inwards towards the small, tenacious shard of light which is our soul.
“Travel light, live light, spread the light,
be the light.” –Yogi tea bag
