Like many of us, I was brought with the idea “work hard and you will succeed.” However, I’m one of those people who like to take things to their extremes. My “push through the pain” attitude bled into my yoga practice. The good news is that through my yoga practice I strengthened my capacity for awareness and can at least recognize my overachieving nature. In yoga philosophy, aversion and attachment are the two main causes of suffering. My quest for perfection, especially as a dancer demands discipline. I examine things through the lens of the glass being half empty. I search for ways to fill the glass up with as much goodness as I can find at any cost. In my mind complacency also demands a certain level of discipline. You’d have to commit to doing just enough to get by. At the risk of sounding like a yoga nazi, I believe strongly that you must play to your edge in order to improve and refine your craft, however, now I understand that there are no shortcuts even if those shortcuts involve the ruthless daily pounding of your body to make it do what you want it to.

So this brings me to my this question: How do you reconcile the quest for success and complacency? Where is that fine line? Is it different for each person? Yes, yes, I know I am suppose to “listen to the Divine Teacher within me” but more often than not my more aggressive and calculating rational mind upstages the latent layers of my consciousness. This is going to be very “unyogic” of me to admit, but whatever it’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to right? When I first began a regular yoga practice at YogaHop in Santa Monica, CA I’d see all these people doing crazy arm balances and I was like “I wanna learn how to do that!” This desire to master some of these crazy poses is what propelled me to pursue my yoga practice further and further. In my quest to attain the perfect arm balance I actually fell in love with yoga and how it made me feel…and  yes, eventually I was able to perfect the poses too, but when that time came it felt more like a side-effect compared to the lingering sense of well-being and connection I experienced each time I practiced.

I use to think that being a disciplined dancer meant pushing through the mental and of course physical discomfort until you simply can’t push anymore, but as I became a more seasoned yoga practitioner and as I get older I’ve implemented a new kind of discipline. When the body speaks to you, you shouldn’t shush it. Ask anyone who has a consistent yoga practice and they will tell you about yoga’s capacity to refine and elevate their level of body-awareness. Not only does this more sophisticated sense of self allow more control over the body but it can also help prevent injury. These days I take genuine inventories several times a day each day to check in with what’s going on with my physical body. My thoughts on discipline morphed over the last few years. I’ve strayed away from the stringent “no pain, no gain” attitude and arrived at an understanding that if I do what’s possible at the present moment with unvarnished consistency then I am still a disciplined.

YOGI TIDBIT TO TRY: To help yourself take a genuine inventory of where you are right now, lie down on your yoga mat in supta baddha konasana by placing the soles of your feet together and letting your knees fall open towards ground. Then gently place one hand over the heart and one hand over the abdomen. If you feel discomfort in the groins or in the hips, place a couple of blakets or blocks under each knee so that you can soften the groins. (see image below) Close you eyes and if you have an eyepillow or a small towel, place it over the eyes. Exhale completely so your abdomen is totally empty and hold the breath out for a moment. Inhale deeply through the nose—all the way to the top of the lungs—and hold the breath in for a moment before letting it go through the mouth. Close the lips and start to breath through your nose. Take about ten minutes here simply breathing through the news and focusing your attention on maintaining the steadiness of the breath while tuning in to any sensations that might arise.