During a yoga practice, I will move back and forth between opposite forces. I like to think of this work in opposing forces as a swinging energy rather than a teeter totter. When I was little, I never liked the teeter totter quite as much as I did the swings. Maybe it was because the teeter totter needed two people to make it work. Those two people needed to be of equal weight and desire, otherwise the one who felt the need to be controlling could take the fun out of the exchange of the back and forth. Remember those times when your friend could pin you at the top of the teeter until you either jump off, or they let you back down? The other element I never liked much about a teeter totter was the thumping that could occur between the shifting of sides. The swing though, is smooth and was operated solely on the amount of effort that I would put into it. All I needed was a desire to swing higher, to fly upwards, evenly in both directions, by pulling with my arms, and pumping with my legs. Hanging on to those two chains in my hands and the leather strap saddle for a seat. On the playground, that was what I enjoyed the most.
I think it’s the pulling of opposing forces that draws me into yoga. I like the singular responsibility of managing these opposing energies while on my mat. During one Ashtanga yoga practice I will experience this back and forth in many different ways. It’s this duality that helps us find a feeling of contentment, where we are not conflicted by the energies, but comforted by both the light and dark side of things.
On my mat… I will go from being cold to hot.
On my mat… heaviness will teach me to create lightness.
On my mat… contraction will facilitate expansion.
My strength’s show me my weaknesses.
Movement leads me to stillness
Exhales draw in inhales.
Tightness gives way to looseness
Emptiness gives me a great feeling of fullness.
Laziness is transformed into energy.
Silence is gained from a noisy mind.
Relaxation is cultivated out of tension.
Give it a try and see what happens. If you do, and you were like me when I was young, you’ll feel compelled to jump off the swing set with wild abandon, and free fall for a short time through space to feel the weightlessness that is possible. Only if we are willing to embrace that everything has a risk. Remember everything has an opposite…the risk you take on your yoga mat does have a reward.
