Success is in the Process

Lift your Spirit to new heights

Cyndi Lee wrote, "Most of us are task oriented and understand how to begin and complete a job. But yoga is never finished. It is always about the process, not the product."
So true! We have good days and bad days. On the good days, we're calm, compassionate, centred. The bad days usually start off that way! We're less tolerant, snappy, and easily irritated. Everything works in parallels - nothing too good or too bad ever lasts so long. Good days have the ability to forge gratitude and humility. Bad days however are the true testament of our characters. How we choose to escape from our angry, negative state is detrimental on how our day will progress.
Since I began teaching yoga, people think that I'm this completely 'zenitized' human being. Somehow, they got disillusioned into believing that I live consistently happy, free of judgement, and with complete trust in the process. Not exactly! I try to live that way, but my joy does get overshadowed by anger, at least three times a day. I set my emotions free and then I try to go deeper into what sparked the madness. And then I breathe....and breathe.....and breathe some more.
In my life on and off the mat, I try to be mindful and connected to Spirit. I'm way better at doing this on the mat though. So to avoid the pressure of ALWAYS living my yoga off the mat, I remind myself to be present in every moment. When my fuse runs short, I try to forgive myself and let go of any guilt. Then I reflect on the words or actions that awakened my fire. It's not about how I feel in the end, but rather the way I feel in the process (beginning, middle, end) that matters most. Creating a mental shift to help me get out of the gutter, is the highlight of the journey.
Life is loaded with stuff - emotions, responsibilities, attachments, judgement, criticism, hate, and an overflow of information. These are all hurdles that we jump over every day. Sometimes, I wish I could shut down all the noise that clutters the Spirit. Some days it's easier to do so than others. But the process, on both good and bad days, is where all the meaning lies. Doesn't matter where you finish in the end, but rather how you got there, that's important. Make your life journey way more exciting than your destination!