I had 3 lovely ladies in class yesterday who were all friends. It was a sweet thing to watch, since these 3 Cross Fit together, are friendly together, and in general just had a nice eb and flow to their friendship.
As I got to chatting with them before class, they told me about their Cross Fit dedication, and I immediately abandoned my initial plan figuring we'd focus on deep stretches. As we got started, so did the moans...the groans...the giggling...and, inevitably, some physical barriers.
As strong as these girls were, individually and as unit, I guided them to utilize something different. Anytime I'd see various areas of the body tense up, I'd ease them deeper into the resistance that they were trying to put forth.
As a yoga instructor I, and many others, see this often. As a coach, I see this just as often. Except while I'm coaching the mind is the muscle that's putting forth that resistance, so that it doesn't ignite what lies in the heart.
Recently I used the word resilience in some of my work with my own teacher. I quickly came to realize resilience is just a fancier term for conform. Would I say these girls were resilient to the change of fitness methods? No. Would I say they were conforming to Yoga? No. Would I say they were utilizing flexibility?
YES!
This concept...FLEXIBILITY...really has nothing to do with the body initially It has everything to do with acceptance of the change of environment happening around you, and figuring out how you can work within those changes! In that class, as I was mercilessly putting them through hamstring stretch after hamstring stretch...I had no expectations. Whether they put their nose to their knee, or their nose in the air...they were still in the pose! Trying the pose on for size, and get this...even following my instruction! They were all for it! It was a very proud moment as a teacher...because the concept in some way/shape/form got through to them. Whether they knew it or not.
We closed class, we Om'd, and we started to make our way out of the studio. The girls were smiling, planning the rest of their night...when one said to me, "I can't stop smiling." I giggled with them, and labeled it "Yoga High".
What I really wanted to sincerely say to them all was, "Thank you for your flexibility!"
~NAMASTE~
