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| Many of you have asked me to post my writings outside of their publication in the Naples Daily News. At long last, here it is! The new columnns will be updated weekly, please feel free to send this link to anyone and everyone you know. www.jamieshane.com/archives (All work is copyright protected, I'll thank you to honour that.) If you are looking for an article published sometime in the past,some are archived by the links below, but not all. Many of them can be found in my new book Chop Wood, Carry Water. Copies are available for purchase at http://store.bijayoga971.com/chop-wood-carry-water.html |
Can't 15 September 2008
Some of the most valuable instruction I ever received was given to me by a near, dear and very old
friend. She teaches yoga in Boston and while attending one of her classes, she offered up this
remarkably simple gem: “Don’t think about it. Just do it!”
Imagine my surprise to suddenly find myself in the Bird of Paradise, a beautiful standing, one-legged
twist. Had you asked me beforehand if I would achieve this crazy-fun (and, yes, difficult) asana, I
probably would have laughed. That’s an advanced pose, I might have said, not yet for me. But once in
the moment, removed from the absurdity of the thought, I obeyed her without question and found lift-
off. I stopped thinking about where I should be and leapt beyond my boundaries.
This ‘hoo-yah’ technique of hers is not common in yoga. The thought is always there, but I find it isn’t
so often presented with such ‘get-over-it’ flair. In our quest to be considerate and gentle of everybody’
s condition, this idea of moving out of thoughts and into experience can be misread. The preferred
instruction to honour your own space, to be true to your personal needs can sometimes become the
perfect excuse for the Can’ts.
I always seem to remember my friend, and her instruction, when I am confronted with a Can’t. You
know the one. Oh, I can’t do that. Oh, I won’t even try to do that. No, no, I just can’t. Grrrr. Can you
really not do that? If so, fine. But how much of that can’t is really won’t? I don’t mind if you are truly
unable to go there. But if you aren’t even trying-- if you are being a Can’t--stop thinking about it and
just do it, darn it!
I see the Can’t mentality in students all the time because—surprise!—yoga is hard. It asks you to go
many new places both physical and mental. This often butts up against much of what you believe to
be true about yourself. An old injury is usually a perfect culprit that keeps these old beliefs in place
and facilitates the Can’t mentality.
Perhaps it was a knee injury from college that has been catered to for years. Certainly that means that
you can’t (or won’t have to) attempt a deep-knee bend. If this injury is long healed, this Can’t
represents your unwillingness to let go of whatever emotions you associate with this injury. Perhaps it
was the feeling of being cared for while you recovered. Perhaps it is the fact that such an injury gives
you membership in the club of other injured. Your injury sets you apart from other, non-injured
mortals. It makes you , in a strange way, special. If you suddenly discover that you can, in fact, manage
postures that prove your injury is healed, what happens to this belief that you have held onto for so
long? Who are you then?
Sadly, the same holds true for emotional injuries as well. Old scars and behaviour patterns lock you
into a method of living. They can dictate what can and cannot be true in your life. The belief that one
simply cannot do something is debilitating in more ways than just the physical. It represents a holding,
a block. It reinforces the thoughts that keep you precisely where you are and prevent you from
moving beyond. Whether this manifests as a physical condition, or an emotional one, holding on to
this can’t will hobble you.
Nobody is immune from the Can’ts. Not even me. But in the words of the great Guru Yoda, “There is
no try. There is only do.” So. Yes. You can. Just stop thinking about it and do it.
Some of the most valuable instruction I ever received was given to me by a near, dear and very old
friend. She teaches yoga in Boston and while attending one of her classes, she offered up this
remarkably simple gem: “Don’t think about it. Just do it!”
Imagine my surprise to suddenly find myself in the Bird of Paradise, a beautiful standing, one-legged
twist. Had you asked me beforehand if I would achieve this crazy-fun (and, yes, difficult) asana, I
probably would have laughed. That’s an advanced pose, I might have said, not yet for me. But once in
the moment, removed from the absurdity of the thought, I obeyed her without question and found lift-
off. I stopped thinking about where I should be and leapt beyond my boundaries.
This ‘hoo-yah’ technique of hers is not common in yoga. The thought is always there, but I find it isn’t
so often presented with such ‘get-over-it’ flair. In our quest to be considerate and gentle of everybody’
s condition, this idea of moving out of thoughts and into experience can be misread. The preferred
instruction to honour your own space, to be true to your personal needs can sometimes become the
perfect excuse for the Can’ts.
I always seem to remember my friend, and her instruction, when I am confronted with a Can’t. You
know the one. Oh, I can’t do that. Oh, I won’t even try to do that. No, no, I just can’t. Grrrr. Can you
really not do that? If so, fine. But how much of that can’t is really won’t? I don’t mind if you are truly
unable to go there. But if you aren’t even trying-- if you are being a Can’t--stop thinking about it and
just do it, darn it!
I see the Can’t mentality in students all the time because—surprise!—yoga is hard. It asks you to go
many new places both physical and mental. This often butts up against much of what you believe to
be true about yourself. An old injury is usually a perfect culprit that keeps these old beliefs in place
and facilitates the Can’t mentality.
Perhaps it was a knee injury from college that has been catered to for years. Certainly that means that
you can’t (or won’t have to) attempt a deep-knee bend. If this injury is long healed, this Can’t
represents your unwillingness to let go of whatever emotions you associate with this injury. Perhaps it
was the feeling of being cared for while you recovered. Perhaps it is the fact that such an injury gives
you membership in the club of other injured. Your injury sets you apart from other, non-injured
mortals. It makes you , in a strange way, special. If you suddenly discover that you can, in fact, manage
postures that prove your injury is healed, what happens to this belief that you have held onto for so
long? Who are you then?
Sadly, the same holds true for emotional injuries as well. Old scars and behaviour patterns lock you
into a method of living. They can dictate what can and cannot be true in your life. The belief that one
simply cannot do something is debilitating in more ways than just the physical. It represents a holding,
a block. It reinforces the thoughts that keep you precisely where you are and prevent you from
moving beyond. Whether this manifests as a physical condition, or an emotional one, holding on to
this can’t will hobble you.
Nobody is immune from the Can’ts. Not even me. But in the words of the great Guru Yoda, “There is
no try. There is only do.” So. Yes. You can. Just stop thinking about it and do it.
Creativity 15 August
Humble Pie 22 June
Many of you who read my posts know me at least passing well. Some of you know me not at all.
Stupid 24 Mai 2008
I was recently shanghaied into a debate that was not my own.
Leave the Lights On 13 Mai 2008
Of all of the roads I’ve driven in the United States—and believe me, that’s quite a few—my bar none
favourite is a small stretch of country road between Downingtown and West Chester, Pennsylvania called
Marshallton-Thorndale.
John McCain 6 Mai 2008
Last week I had dinner with Senator John McCain.
Honeybee 29 April 2008
For most of my life, I have held negative feelings towards the bee.
Adapt 21 April 2008
I used to have a really hard time in many yoga classes. Not with the physicality of the practice,
but with the teachers.
Cake
Recently I have found myself wondering: Is there ever a point in time where the wrong thing is
actually the right thing?
Crystal Slipper
When I was fresh out of Teacher Training, I applied to teach yoga at a health club in
Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Fear
I think we’re all afraid of something.
French Fry
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Mmm, not always.
It's all Yoga to Me
The older I get, the more I discover that it’s all yoga to me.
Archives
Humble Pie 22 June
Many of you who read my posts know me at least passing well. Some of you know me not at all.
Stupid 24 Mai 2008
I was recently shanghaied into a debate that was not my own.
Leave the Lights On 13 Mai 2008
Of all of the roads I’ve driven in the United States—and believe me, that’s quite a few—my bar none
favourite is a small stretch of country road between Downingtown and West Chester, Pennsylvania called
Marshallton-Thorndale.
John McCain 6 Mai 2008
Last week I had dinner with Senator John McCain.
Honeybee 29 April 2008
For most of my life, I have held negative feelings towards the bee.
Adapt 21 April 2008
I used to have a really hard time in many yoga classes. Not with the physicality of the practice,
but with the teachers.
Cake
Recently I have found myself wondering: Is there ever a point in time where the wrong thing is
actually the right thing?
Crystal Slipper
When I was fresh out of Teacher Training, I applied to teach yoga at a health club in
Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Fear
I think we’re all afraid of something.
French Fry
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Mmm, not always.
It's all Yoga to Me
The older I get, the more I discover that it’s all yoga to me.
Archives
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