“Patience attracts happiness, it brings near that which is far”
– Swahili proverb
Ah patience, it can be silent on the outside and you can be experiencing turmoil on the inside. To learn to be truly patient means we must endeavour to let go, to adapt and to accept. It is a beautiful human quality to have enabling us to see past any negativity and frustration of a situation.
I’ve been contemplating how this compassionate quality delivers so much more than what we see and take at face value. You never know what another person is going through, or the journey that they’ve experienced, or are enduring. The humility, hope and resilience that patience gives them is a true strength of character.
I guess, like all of us at various times in our lives, I’ve been practicing patience quite a bit lately. Selling our house in 2019 and moving into a rental was only meant to be for a year, then a new house purchase fell through, resulting in another rental house move for my family, then the pandemic and sadly two-family bereavements followed. In the last year my husband has amazingly retrained and is completely changing his career, we finally moved into our own house again last week, three years later, and I am shortly awaiting surgery for my vocal cords.
On top of this I am starting my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) in a couple of weeks, and I am so ready to now let go of pressure and immerse myself into something I love. A journey that I anticipate will have highs and lows, full of potential and possibility for personal growth and new experiences. All with the purpose of then being able to share my practice with others.
Yoga has helped me though all of this. It helps me keep grounded and maintain perspective. My breath and movement expressed through these ancient wisdoms gift me an understanding that my body, heart and mind are my safe space. It’s true, everything we need is inside each of us. Practice continues to help me to find calmness, acceptance and hope.
If we can let patience wash over us in moments of trials and tribulations it can help us to be better, kinder and more understanding. It nourishes our hearts with a positive attitude that can open up our minds to creativity and opportunities when life inevitably throws out a curve ball.
It gently allows us to be forgiving towards ourselves and others, to not place blame and anger when things happen out of our control. Ultimately, it can nurture healing within us, as emotional healing of any kind takes time and patience.
Life is fast paced, and on occasion we are impatient with others and ourselves. We know that it is not polite, kind or pretty. It is unpleasant to witness and fills us with negativity after the event. A regular yoga practice can nurture patience firstly with yourself, which translates into every aspect of your life off the mat.
Our asana/physical practice is only one of the eight limbs of yoga, but this mindful connection through the unity of movement and breath, along with the dance between success, and failure experienced with the ability to try again and again, can teach us that given time you will progress. A reminder that everything about you is forever fluid and evolving. As we learn to be patient on our mat we practice ahimsa, gaining trust in ourselves, and the process.
Off the mat patience brings a graciousness to our communication with others, an acceptance for situations and hope that may gift us a steadfastness and positivity to keep moving in the direction we wish to go, even when facing obstacles along the way.
Next time life challenges you, take a deep breath, for this breath is yours alone, it is powerful and can connect you to your inner strength and calm.
This nourishes freedom, perspective and patience, but these qualities require continual mindfulness and care. The wonderful thing is this can begin by showing yourself compassion in your yoga practice. Here are a few examples of how you could cultivate patience on your yoga mat:
Breath – listen and connect to it, slowing everything down.
Yin Yoga – practicing longer holds in asanas, finding the ability to surrender in stillness. Find strength in your edge.
Awareness – bring awareness to the transitions in between asanas, tune in, slow it down and feel your body move through time and space.
Intention – set an intention at the beginning of your practice, for example, today I will let go of expectation, today I practice with kindness towards myself or, I will be patient and accepting in my practice today.
Music – play something that you can get lost in, something that relaxes you, and move slowly.
Most of all, enjoy your yoga. Wherever you are in your practice, you will always need patience to progress. May it bring you joy and not frustration. Yoga is not a race, or a competition with yourself or others, always treat yourself with kindness.
The journey will teach you so much about yourself. For me, the photo above has a deeper meaning, as I never expected to achieve hanumanasana (front splits) it signifies a journey of eighteen months of consistency, progression, self-care, dedication, and the hours that I showed up for myself.
Mostly, I’m proud of the knowledge and intimate way I got to know my body through a heightened, mind, body connection and the delicate balance of knowing when to push, and when to be accepting and kind. I stayed injury free on my splits journey, stretching and opening my muscles and hips like never before in my life. For me it’s an asana that continually requires compassion and patience.
May your asana practice gift you with so much more than the physical.
This is yoga. It’s for everyone.
Be kind and go with the flow.
Jo x
“Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time” – Jon Kabat Zinn
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