The Best Advice I Ever Received as a Yogi

Ever hear something and it goes straight to your heart? You know the message was meant for you and it sticks with you? Yeah, me, too. A few weeks ago, I asked a few of my yoga peeps to share with us what their golden messages were.

Here is my answer to the question:

My story begins years ago, perhaps even decades. I was taking an advanced workshop with one of my favorite teachers. We were working on a pose I desperately wanted to master. I was struggling, straining and silently cursing my body for not being more flexible.

At that moment, my teacher said something that would stay with me forever:

I’ve been in the final post.

There’s nothing there.

There’s no hurry.

~ Ramanad Patel

The message went from my ears straight to my heart. I recognized the struggle right there in that moment and I might have even chuckled as the wisdom sank into me.

This message was for me.

The struggle on my Yoga mat needed to stop. I have a relatively tight body. While it’s flexible as compared to the average person, it is tight for a yogi – especially a teacher with a 25 year practice. I often felt almost sheepish about my lack of flexibility. Like I needed to explain it to anyone who looked at me.

Here was the message for me:

There’s nothing in the final pose. That’s not the point of yoga; that’s not the point of life.

That message frequently returns to me in life when I am bring in struggle as I reach for a new goal. I can get so caught up in where I am going that I can forget where I am. I am  Life Coach, I like to reach for big things. It feeds me, gets me excited, makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. But we always want to remember to enjoy where we are at the same time.

And do I ever struggle on the mat now? I’d love to say no. But if I am being honest, yep, I do. I still feel judgment and frustration. I can still feel fixated on the final pose or goal. I frequently find these wise words coming back to me and I stop, relax and work on enjoying the ride.

You must enjoy the stories of the best advice my yogi friends ever received, too!

• Nadine Fawell: Let’s just say it is a message we ALL need to hear!

• Kate Connell: 4 Lessons for a New Yoga Teacher

• Darla Brown

• Beck Anderson: She shares a deeply personal experience that led to months of unfolding.