Yoga, relaxation and true strength
What is true strength? Let’s begin with what true strength is not. It is not gritting the teeth, clenching the jaw, furrowing the brow and generally getting ready for battle.
These are the things we do when we are being determined. Whether that is determined to prove, not to fail, to finish – whatever the reason, it results in an armour-like tension of someone going into some kind of battle. This brings pain and injury.
When we recognise that tension brings pain we naturally assume that what we want is its opposite: relaxation. But there is a surprise to be found here, one that makes relaxation more than a thing we do at the end of a tough day. When we experience this surprise, it feels like it is our very centre. This is our Will.
Our Will is often symbolised by a mountain because it is so immense and immovable. You can feel this strength when you are sat in a chair regardless of your physical strength. It is the part of you that already knows how great it is without needing to prove it, without needing to worry about failing or finishing.
Each time you change your approach to a yoga pose (or meditation) where you are ready to not get it right, you are allowing a little space for your Will to start to come through. Each time this strength comes through in your yoga practice, you are preparing the way for it to come through in your daily activities. It is this strength of being that helps us to exhale and relax into ourselves and life, into our being. This type of experience is surprisingly blocked by our very selves in many ways, but when you recognise it, you know what it is you really want. Then you continue working out how to make way for it.