To Yield, Or To Resist

A question of process over product

To Yield, Or To Resist

Welcome, I hope you are all well and doing okay? That is not necessarily a rhetorical question as I am hoping for this publication to be more of a group page where we can all come together to share our stories. So please, if you feel called to leave a comment then please do so but there is absolutely no pressure to feel like you have to.

Why is this post called, To Yield, Or To Resist?

This is something I have been thinking about recently in my own practice. I have mentioned these words - yielding, resisting - in recent poems and it is something I am currently experiencing. I wonder if this then is something that you may encounter in your own practices too?

I am finding how at times my mind may be working at a completely different rate than that of my body, or even spirit. Or my body may not be working in a way that I feel I want it to. In cases such as these I am thinking that I feel I have to yield into the present space and not put too much pressure on my Self to do more, bend more, hold more. That I have to relinquish my sense of control and resist the urge to push myself further.

This is a continual process to accept where I am. Our body is like an instrument and, like tuning a guitar, I need to listen to the fine movements to register where I am at. If something feels too tight or a little off then I need to adjust my preconceived notion of what I was hoping to do and find some other way, or take a little longer to ease into the stretch. At times my intuition has been that I don't attempt a certain posture and rather than feeling guilty for missing it out (which can rise up in me) I am learning to let it go.

This inner listening is vital for establishing a yoga flow that is long-lasting and therefore becomes routine, rather than desiring quick fixes that ultimately leads to burnout. Burnout I am thinking here in terms of how we can feel bored from doing it because we are putting too much pressure on ourselves to be doing things that presently are out of our reach. We have to quieten that inner dialogue from our internal Superego so that we can build a healthier relationship with ourselves.

But that is no easy journey. It is a constant push / pull between seeking rewards for our efforts and needing a break. I struggle with this a lot. A part of me is wanting the results to be felt and seen more than they are, while at the same time I feel bogged down by a nagging feeling of having to do it which then triggers in me a resistance. The resistance is a kind of self-sabotage so that I don't see the results I am wanting, that then turns into a negative self-fulfilling prophecy and eventually a Catch-22.

The way through this quandary is by yielding into it. It is an allowance for how things are in the present. If my mind, or body, or both is not up for it then that is okay. I have to really focus my attention on this and tell my Self repeatedly that it is okay.

Also, if in my flow I am feeling tension then I make sure to listen to this. I then have some options: not do the posture, or do a little of what I can manage. And again I have to tell myself that I am not failing. For yielding is not giving up, it is easing into the structure and purpose of yoga. It is allowing one's Self to deepen into the rhythm so we can bring a more wholesome quality to our practice. It is not about harder, faster equalling better. It is about healing and in that we need to find an holistic process. Bringing softness to our sessions then allows our mind and spirit to wander.

My mind roams when I am practicing my yoga. I am not in deep concentration on the posture, my breathing or looking at what I am doing. I am letting my mind to float casually and easily. Sometimes I catch myself and think back on the spontaneous thoughts that might have arisen. They are very random and can be so alternative they actually make me laugh. It is also in this liminal space that then allows for spirit to come through. By letting my mind to wander, then another space can be opened up. And I think this is crucial. This is where the magick happens.

Alternatively, by resisting then brings with it its own defeat, or defence. It is something that happens which borders on the Ego and Superego where we feel we should be doing such and such, and getting better, and so we push ourselves harder to try and achieve it but then feeling on a negative loop when we feel like we can't push any harder and then give up.

This kind of spiralling occurs when we tell ourselves we aren't doing what we think which can be based upon comparing ourselves to others. I do follow pages on Insta and I watch videos on YouTube. But I have to really detach from what I am watching as it can become a loop of thinking why I am not able to do what they are. Then I think back to my younger self who was able to do it and I feel a sense of regret rising up in me. Through using meditation and chanting then a strong resonance of detachment can be established and those feelings can be let go of. To me it is symptomatic of identification with the AI algorithm which is negatively set by the social platforms targeting a certain area in our brain (the hippocampus and ultimately the limbic system) which, through the stress from doom scrolling, can be affected and giving rise to such feelings of inadequacy. This is my analysis which is not based upon research but I believe there is a strong link in what I have just proposed which does require further study.

And in the end? Perhaps it is not yield, OR resist. Perhaps instead it is more yield, NOT resist.

This is enough food for thought currently so I will sign off now. I am so thankful for all of your support, and for taking the time to read my post. It really does mean so much to me.

I look forward to hearing from you and I will endeavour to respond as soon as I can. If you have not heard back then I am probably in the middle of my practice but rest assured I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I send you many Blessings,

Namaste 🙏✨🕉️🦋

• Music of the moment: Letitgo, Prince (1994)