The Art of Practicing

Have you ever practiced yoga? I now know why they call it a practice! You must practice, and practice daily, if you ever hope to be somewhat good at anything beyond Warrior One.

As part of my recovery I am allowed to do some forms of yoga to help stretch and keep the rest of me from becoming a total couch potato. It only a few online classes to remind me of how inflexible I am, that my poses do not always match the lady teaching our online class, and there isn't enough wine to make me limber enough to get in full Lotus without tearing something major (and I don't just mean my pants!). Thankfully the classes are online and I don't have my camera or mic turned on so no one can see my legs shaking from lack of balance and strength, watch me fall out of poses, or hear me swear at the lady who just turned herself into a human pretzel without batting an eye.

If I "practiced" yoga every day for the next three years would I get any better? Yes, I would increase my agility and flexibility. Would I ever be able to get into a one-handed inverted Tree pose? Meh, I'm not so sure about that. Just because I have limitations on what I can accomplish in the yoga hemisphere, does that mean I should stop trying?

Have you heard the saying "Practice makes perfect"? I hate to rain on your parade, but it isn't true. Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect. And since there are no perfect people, perfect is an unattainable situation. The reality is that practice makes progress. Progress, not perfection. Honestly, just typing those last two sentences brings me a sense of relief and freedom that causes my shoulders to relax.

Thinking about this reminds me about how the perfectionist in me has sabotaged my past so many times. I have had so many times in my life where I didn't feel good enough, wouldn't be able to hit the bar I believed was set, or failed so miserably I didn't believe it was worth trying anymore. I don't know that I have a defined "finish line" in my head; I just know I look in the mirror and see someone who has fallen short in so many ways.

How thankful I am that God is beyond human! He has the ability to look in the mirror and see his daughter who was bought and paid for by his Son. Jesus modeled perfection while here on Earth but thankfully doesn't hold me to the same bar. He looks for progress, not perfection!

So what lesson is yoga teaching me right now? I think it is the art of practicing.

Practically what that means for me is to just show up. Forget about what I look like, forget about how qualified I am or what kind of day I'm having and just show up. What I have to offer won't ever be perfect. But what I have to offer is good enough, even during the progress. So I will show up for my family who might need extra love today, show up for neighbors who might need to chat, show up for strangers who might need kindness, show up for God who patiently waits to spend time with me, and yes, show up for yoga class because we all need to laugh.

#yogapractice #theartofpracticing