Dear Yogis and Yoginis,
As many of you know, I am learning to teach yoga to pregnant women, and I wanted to share a question that came up during my last training. Several of the women in the course are pregnant, and one of them brought up her fear of exposing her baby to "negative emotions", such as anger and sadness. How could she prevent her baby from being affected by these tough emotional experiences?
With clarity and compassion, Ayala, the teacher on that day, reminded us that the worse thing you can do for a child (or, in fact, any other human being) is send the message that it is not OK to experience difficult emotions. Any child will one day experience anger or sadness, just as they will experience compassion and joy. Rather than teaching avoidance, what tools can you share with them so that they may better understand what they live through and cope with the inevitable challenges? What tools can you cultivate within yourself for the same reasons?
As a practitioner of yoga, the task is not to avoid suffering, but rather to find a way to hold it, to give it space so that the ensuing emotions are not pushed away, but rather observed and understood so that they don't continue to haunt us.
Which brings me to this month's practice: how can we create space within us to hold those things that are difficult? Throughout November, we will explore how to remain mindful in our practice, especially when we notice our mind becoming distracted and avoiding the challenge at hand. Indeed, learning how to stay present with oneself at challenging times is probably one of the most advanced practices we can aim to. Sometimes the challenge is physical, sometimes emotional or intellectual. Can we still breath through it? Is there still space to relax the eyes and soften in the jaw? And what happens when we make room for the experience and become a witness to the fluctuations of our awareness?
November can be a busy time of the year, and it's even more important to take care of ourselves so that we can keep going. So this month, make a little space. Make space for a yoga practice, for a nap, or for a walk. Create a space of comfort and support, where even the scary things can come up without overwhelming us. And, if anything else, try a slow exhalation.
Beatrice
