Breath first, move second

I’ve been practicing how to float. Now I’m super good at over doing it—at trying too hard. This is something I’m aware of. In a desperate attempt to “not do it wrong” I over do my teacher’s useful tips and instructions.

Luckily for me, he sees straight through me and is aware of my “over dong it” capabilities. Therefore, he is gentle with his words and picks them carefully, over emphasising words like subtlety and softly. He often says, “And don’t over do it,” as he knows that I have not yet burned through that samsakra.

It was this same, wonderful teacher who pointed out that what we do on the mat is often what we do off the mat. Our attitudes and behaviours are exactly the same, and they way we do things in our lives is the same as the way we do them on our yoga mats.

Black Lotus Yoga

The black lotus flower is a symbol of the rebellious spirit, a symbol of the one who moves off on her own, who follows the path that opens up to her and refuses all pressures to conform. Her sole authority is the voice of her heart, and she follows that voice wherever it leads. This is how she stays aligned with her truth, and nurtures the unfoldment of her being—she relates to herself openly, in her own unique way, and she has her own dance with darkness. To do anything else, she knows, would be a betrayal to her soul.

Black is the color of sorrow, and the rebellious spirit knows sorrow intimately, for sorrow is the pith of human life, and that is what she eats for her nourishment. As the black lotus flower pulls the darkness up from the mud, and spreads it out upon its petals, so the rebellious spirit drinks deeply from the well.