It is all too easy to find fault in ourselves. “My legs aren’t straight or level enough, back not extended, heart not open, arms not….” You get the point. We are our own worst critics.
Being able to find the joy in the moment – just as it is – is far more satisfying than gritting your teeth and forcing yourself into the textbook perfect mold. Take it from me, finding joy in imperfection is a lot more fun too.
We lay side by side, on the beach rather than yoga mats and enjoyed the sun shining down on our faces. Our instructor directed us to take in the moment fully and enjoy everything about it. It’s perfect, as are we, she suggested. Nothing to change or perfect. Simply pure joy, there for us to experience.
Starting off class in this way was so apropos after the bit of morning criticism I’d dealt myself. It was the sort of morning where one finds it hard to visualize the sun shining on them even when it is truly doing just that.
Not only was the sun shining this morning, the coffee was hot, I had a full tank of gas, and we even managed to get to school on time. Truly, things were right. Yet I couldn’t seem see it that way.
The funny thing was, after an hour of being fine with the wobbles, bobbles, and slightly misaligned poses inside the yoga studio, I walked outside to find the sun was no longer shining. In fact, it was raining. Yet, I took that joyful feeling, where everything was just perfect as is, off the mat and into the world.