"Your Mat Is Not A Mess"

Week of 9/15/2019 Intention Focus: Santosha (contentment) Yet another "Aha!" moment during training this last weekend at Asheville Yoga Center. Sierra Hollister was one of the training teachers for the weekend, and had sensed that we needed a "sharing circle" to calm anxiety which was bubbling up in some of the class members for different reasons. The issue about which I shared was struggling with the brain injury (from a car accident in 2017) and how I was "losing my identity." Prior to the accident I had been a "make it happen" kind of gal who thrived on laser-like focus to complete both big and small projects, both professionally and at home. For example, one summer my son and I decided to clean our garage. Not only did we declutter it, we watched YouTube to learn how to operate a hammer drill, learned how to build our own shelves, and built shelves as well as installed cabinets and storage systems to help organize the basement and garage. However, since the accident, my focus has been scattered, projects remain unfinished, and stamina has been undermined by neural fatigue and the need for rest. The result as I described it is that "My house is a mess, my car is a mess, my basement and garage are a mess and I'm just not who I used to be. I've lost who I was for 53 years, and now I am figuring out again who I am." Sierra responded, "But your mat is not a mess." This statement didn't process at first. I think I kept talking. But later that night, the words kept returning to me. Sierra was right. My mat is not a mess. My mat is a place of divine refuge where I can just be. We can let go on our mats. We can take off our hats of responsibility. We can briefly push the pause button on any care-giving we provide for others. We don't have to have an identity on our mats. We don't have to know, and in fact, we are invited to be comfortable in not knowing on our mats. We surrender in trust, kindness and grace on our mats, rather than throwing up our hands in exasperation and despair. When we practice on our mats regularly, this feeling of security and trust grows beyond our mats, and we begin to be able to calmly listen as the solutions present themselves. But for today, in this moment, we can sit in serenity and surrender. The world around us may be a confusing cacophony of chaos, but our mats are not a mess. Thank you, Sierra.

For a link to Sierra Hollister's website and blog: http://www.sunlotusyoga.com/