Wow . . . writing. What’s that? I was beginning to wonder. So, I’m back, hopefully in a consistent manner now. Thanks to all who have continued to visit me in spite of my missing-in-action-ness. (I love that I get to make up my own words on my blog and it’s not against the rules!) I’ve found so many good friends via my blog for whom I am TRULY gratful. Jamie from On the Mat left a cute message on Twitter asking our other yogi-bloggers to take a day trip to Ohio to find me. You are so sweet, Jamie.
Very soon I will be posting after pics from our home remodel. We are 99% there. The slate wall is 3/4 of the way up, with only the top layer left. Besides that we still need to trim. SO, I will either post when completely finished or when it looks like it will be another year before we get to the details. Thanks for all of your comments and well-wishing. I feel truly blessed and grateful!
So, for my post-break debut, I thought I’d write about a recurring issue for me lately. I’m fairly certain all of us may struggle with it, so it was my topic for classes last week to give my students a taste of moving from one to the other . . .
Effort and Ease
How do we find a balance between the two in our lives?
Image courtesy of Flickr
Just like a teeter totter, it’s all about balance.
A few weeks ago, I was going about my business when suddenly I became aware of my jaws. They were tight. I was clenching my teeth! This was in a random moment in the middle of the day. While I know that I’ve had a larger amount of stress in my life than normal, I thought to myself, “Wow . . . is it really that bad, to be clenching my teeth?” Apparently so, because I was. Of course it lead to greater awareness throughout my body and it made me think about the importance of both effort and ease in our lives.
Most of us spend the majority of our lives in an outward fashion . . . working, interacting with friends and co-workers, completing tasks, doing, going, never stopping. While this effort is important to accomplish necessary tasks and to get ahead in our chosen careers and professions, if it is all we do we are MISSING our lives.
Mindfulness is key, which is where ease comes in. After efforting to accomplish tasks, how do we ease into the results. Or, when things don’t go our way, how do we ease into whatever situation we find ourselves in. This has been a lesson ~ and a blessing of mine as J and I have been working on the house. I’ll admit it, when I want things done, I want them done NOW. However, I’ve come to realize that tasks don’t always get done in the manner and fashion in which you want them to. I’ve learned that I needed to find ease in each and every situation I’m in. Things are as they are and wishing them to be different only creates more stress. I am happy to report that I’ve finally found the ease I’ve been seeking.
I love this about yoga. Nothing is static. It’s all about practice. Day in and day out. Each day is different, yet the same. We learn. We grow. I am thankful to have found this beautiful practice and to have it be such a meaningful part of my life.
Balance
Mindfulness
Breath
Be in the moment and be grateful for all that IS!
This is my new Mantra.
Happy Tuesday. I’ve missed my blog and friends who visit! I’m back 
my jaw is one of the first places i notice tension. my guy, chris, grinds his teeth when he’s stressed out. so does my sister (she wears a mouth guard at night!). it is super-bad for the teeth, but, you’re on it, also for the mind. the body tells us things…i’m definitely working on listening.
Welcome back, lady!! You have surely been missed! I’m excited to see your reno pics.
I am glad to hear that you’ve found a good place.
we missed you : )
HEATHER!! I’m so glad to see you! I was just going to drop you a line to see how you were holding up with the renovations.
This post is completely lovely. I’m struggling with this so much. I’m leaning WAY too far on the effort side. I even have trouble calming down to sleep, as I keep thinking of all the things I need to do.
Lots to work on in this area.
Heather!!! We missed you.
I LOVE the title of this post! Effort and ease, exactly what yoga is always about. I use almost this phrase (I usually say effort and surrender, but I love ease!) in my classes all the time.
I clench my jaw in my sleep. I wake up with aching jaw muscles and headaches. Yoga helps, but I think there are some things I have to do some serious work on. The day it stops I will probably have found Nirvana!
Welcome back Heather – looking forward to seeing the house photos.
The balance between effort and ease is a fine one and I wonder sometimes if, like asana practice, it is a journey rather than a destination.
I understand your need to take a break. My grad classes this quarter have bombarded me with work and are just exhausting. I hardly get around to visiting everyone I want to visit and I’m lucky to get one evening out with friends a week (that’s not enough). I’m glad to hear things are going so well with the renovations — can’t wait to see pics. Balance is such an important issue too. Still working on it myself.
welcome back!
I need that- breath-mindfulness-breath. Can I also use that mantra??
(ps- I clench my teeth too…..)
Welcome back, you sure sure did come back with a heck of a post!
Welcome back! I missed you and I can’t wait to see the finish house renovation!