Namaste

“Your goal today”, she tells me, “is simply to stay in the room for the full class.”   I smile. Does she know I’ve just consumed Kristin Armstrong’s most recent blog post?  "Pin it On" is all about how setting a simple, achievable goal frees us from the stress of performing, allowing us to bring all of ourselves to whatever we do. In this case, whatever I’m doing is hot yoga. The Polar Vortex has driven me to the opposite extreme; I have no idea what 90 minutes at 105F while exercising feels like.  I’m not prepared for how challenging this is, or for the sweat teeming from my pores.  But it’s 30 days of unlimited yoga for $30, and I’m wondering how low I can get my per class cost.

 

The instructor ensures today’s slew of newcomers that it’s hardest at the onset.  The workout consists of the same 26 poses; we hew and hone our frames each and every time we repeat them. In Bikram yoga the practice never changes, but our bodies do.  She cues us through the postures, confident as she describes optimal form that we’ll all get there. I can actually see my future self in perfect poses and I believe. And I can say it’s taken every minute of my lifetime to find that kind of faith in myself.

Nothing happens overnight, but it takes many years of living to understand the truth in these words.  Seth Godin presents this concept in his blog post titled "Gradually and then Suddenly".

It’s the media equivalent of an overnight sensation, or devastation that seems to come out of nowhere.  It’s the idea that someone has arrived or that they’ve fallen from grace.  In the hoopla surrounding our broadcast world, no one is ever reporting on the slow plugging away at daily life.  It’s not until a momentous event occurs that the spotlight glares.  It’s only after our suddenly happens, that maybe someone may take the time to trace our gradually.

Strangely, we can be blind to our own gradually, too. While I accepted one challenging and (sometimes) thankless assignment after another at the office, I felt like I struggled to get promoted. In spite of volunteering for outside projects to broaden my network, a trip into the corporate office felt like a visit to a foreign country.  And then one day I lift my head up and notice the shift.  I’m where I dreamed I’d be, with an impressive array of accomplishments in my wake.  When I’m able to get outside of myself and look in objectively, I might say I could retire tomorrow the proud owner of a spectacular career.

 

I like to think this works with parenting and relationships too. Teenagers don’t seem to be making much progress on the maturity curve and then you look up and notice your son has a pretty impressive string of good decision making. I would imagine, too, that in a healthy relationship where every day we make the conscious choice to love our partner, we one day celebrate an unbreakable bond.

 

What if gradually becomes the new suddenly?  What if we look a little closer at the ships we’re steering and give ourselves a pat on the back for the sheer power and tenacity it takes to show up every day and slowly turn the vessels we inhabit?  The gradually is what sits firmly in our wheelhouse.

Soaked head to toe in sweat, I’m lying on a yoga mat in Shavasana, or dead body pose, having successfully completed my first session.  I stayed in the room, and am rewarded with respite, for this is the only pose in yoga where energy is gained. The instructor reminds us to hurry back to class soon.  "Your body", she says, "is changing already after one class."