Be able to bend like a tree in the wind, for the tree that does not bend will break off at its roots. This is a lesson that I am learning as I move through a life of changes both expected and unexpected. I shared this lesson with my students on Saturday morning. As they moved through the guided poses I was able to observe this teaching at work. In balance poses, the moment you become rigid and grip the toes and the jaw is the moment just before you tip out of the pose. Those that were able to soften the face and allow themselves to bend and sway with the pull of gravity were able to stay in the poses longer. Not only were they relaxed more physically but the expressions on their faces were more calm and joyful than those who seemed to be grasping for perfection.

I am going to take the experience of bending into my week. I will try to move with the winds of change and stop resisting. Resistance is futile (the nerds among you will get this)! I have been resisting the possibility of living a life free from fear and anxiety.  These things have become a part of my identity and to them I am grasping.  I am not sure who I am without them. Resistance is a natural state in the universe that works against us if we let it. It can wear us down until we no longer recognize ourselves. Like a tree bending with the wind – when we bend into the resistance in our lives it will pass by. We will feel it but it will not break us. Simple.