The Body Remembers

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I had a good trip but had to cut things short due to lightening striking our house. Thankfully there was no structural damage, just some technology inconveniences to deal with so I am teaching my regular schedule this week since I am back. 

Last week several times I noticed that moment when the mind chooses it’s path. It’s like a juncture in the road. When we reach one; we stop, select, and signal all before we make the correct turn.  We have that same ability in the mind. The idea that we can stop and select the train of thought that serves us (or the one that doesn’t) became my message for the week. I shared the story of the Two Wolves with my classes last week to articulate this concept. 

On the mat we can deploy this opportunity when moving through poses. We can choose to focus on what might not be available or we can choose the path of gratitude for what is. We can meet challenges with compassion or with judgment. The key is in the understanding that it is a choice to “feed our good wolf” ; just like choosing which way to turn when we reach a fork in the road. 

Off the mat, the same concept applies. Countless times each day we hit those “forks in the road” in the mind. When we stop, we can select which path to go down, which “wolf to feed”.  Often, even a short pause and a breath or two can help us choose the better direction. Both on the mat and off I am actively practicing feeding “my good wolf” and I wish the same for all of you.