Begin Anew in 2021
The new year is a good time to begin anew, to remember our deepest aspirations for how we want to live. What brings us joy? What gives our lives meaning? How do we want to show up for ourselves? For others? These are just some of the questions we might like to ask ourselves after a year of suffering and upheaval.
Thich Nhat Hanh ("Thay") has a beautiful teaching about how our suffering can be like compost. Instead of treating the pain, fear, or anger of the past year like garbage to be thrown away, we can use it, like compost, to grow beautiful flowers of peace, understanding, and purpose in the coming year.
Similarly, Tara Brach suggests we ask ourselves "how may this serve to awaken?" If our aspiration is to be a more conscious person, a more loving person, then how can turn whatever difficulty we are currently experiencing into an opportunity to learn and grow?
The process of transformation that Thay and Tara speak of starts with awareness and self-compassion — a willingness to turn towards what we're feeling, to name it, and then to hold it with loving tenderness. Being human is hard and suffering takes many forms. We acknowledge this fact and patiently and gently tend to our feelings, allowing them space to exist, move, and transform.
Yoga asana practice can help this transformative process. By breathing deeply and moving the body, energy and blood can circulate more freely. Increased blood flow to the brain has been shown to improve mood, memory and cognition. By maintaining awareness on bodily sensations, rumination and worry recede. By putting the body in different positions, we have a new perspective on the world. And, practicing as a group, we are reminded of our connection to each other and of what it is to be human. There is a power in practicing together that is greater than when we practice alone — maybe you have felt that!
If you participated in my classes this year — whether my Wednesday night yoga class, the Friday Mindfulness at Noon sessions, or my corporate and private classes — thank you for contributing your precious presence and energy! As Thay might say, we “inter-are.”