I'm not competing... I hope we all win...
It's easy to look at the mat next to you and think why can he/she do that and I can't? Well... lots of reasons. Number one being that he/she is not you and doesn't have your body. Duh!
None of us are created the same... our bodies have the same parts put together relatively the same way, but the relatively part is EVERYTHING. Our bones and muscles, connective tissues and organs, how we process our nutrition, how our nervous system is functioning on any given day... it's all variable. We aren't made the same way, we don't think the same way, we don't fuel our bodies the same way, we don't have the same experiences both throughout our days or on our mats, and we certainly don't move the same way. And that's where the beauty of yoga lies. It is your yoga! Yours! Got me?
This is one of the reasons I LOVE teaching kids yoga. In a world that is so full of competitive sports they need a physical outlet where they can just be, move, breathe, and have fun. The beauty of kids yoga is that they still have the innocence to not give a shit. Kenzie isn't looking at Clayton with a mind full of comparisons... she's too busy barking like a dog. Why can't we do that??
Let's take some notes from the kiddos and try to check our egos at the door and leave the competition off the little islands of our yoga mats. After all, that little island is reserved for peace and growth, strength, balance and flexibility, there's no room for competition.
Here are some little reminders/tips to help get your head out of your ass and into the right place.
- Remember the kids can do it, so... so can you.
- If you're too busy comparing you sure as hell aren't focused. Focus baby!
- Forcing is bad! What someone may or (most likely) may not be thinking of you isn't worth getting hurt over.
- It's your yoga... never forget that. Be aware of your body and do whatever the hell you feel like doing.
- Nobody is judging you, and if they are it's because they have issues of their own. Just do you thing!
- The end goal is for you to feel better mentally and physically after class than when you walked in the door... and competing isn't going to help get you there.
- Comparison is the thief of joy.
- There is no prize.
- You are all on the same team.
- There's really no finish line. You are a work in progress always. Just because you can't nail something that you perceive to be super important today doesn't mean you won't tomorrow. Or maybe you'll come to the realization that it actually isn't all that important at all. Whatever. It's a practice... duh, again!
Sometimes our mind still goes there. If none of this works and you still feel the need to compete, acknowledge and deal with those thoughts...
- Remember: thoughts are just thoughts and they can be changed.
- Consider why you feel that way... hmmmm... there must be something you feel that you need to be practicing more.
- Think of the person you are "competing" with as an inspiration rather than a so called "opponent"
- Tune your focus inward to what you are feeling instead of what you are thinking. Thoughts can be dumb, just feel.
- Recenter yourself and just breathe... when in doubt always just breathe!
There's my two cents on that! Namaste, my friends!! 😉🙏🏻
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