Yoga Readiness

Sometimes getting on the Yoga mat is not as appealing as I’d like or imagined it to be. Especially after years of practice, superficially rewarding changes in the practice are rare and replaced by subtle & intimate revelations.

Sometimes it’s very difficult to get to the mat, but feels good to be on it. Sometimes it’s difficult to get to the mat, and wrong to stay on it. Sometimes it’s impossible to even approach the mat. Sometimes it’s impossible to read my readiness to practice – so there are times I may not practice when I could have or practice when I really shouldn’t.

This morning I stumbled on to another tool to clear my clouded perception. I asked myself “Do you appreciate being here, in this moment, on this Yoga mat?”. I looked down and found my feet bathed in a warm beam of morning sunlight – and the answer was “yes, I do”. Asking the question sent me on a path of introspection and observation. If I can’t answer with a clear “yes” I shouldn’t be on the mat, I should probably be doing something else, creating space, allowing appreciation to resurface.

There’s a good chance that asking the question not only reflects on my present consciousness but also alters it, in which case it is not just a readiness-test but a great opening posture for my practice.