The Journey

One of the things I cherish most about my yoga practice is the chilled, lavender-scented washcloths that the instructors leave on our mats at the end of class for savasana (which is supposed to be your own time to relax after the practice and clear your mind in silence). I live for this treat, which is delightful when you have been sweating like it's over 100 degrees at 90 percent humidity (and there are people who practice right next to space heaters and humidifiers - what kind of insanity is that?). The icy cold feel of the washcloth on my face and neck, almost burning it's so cold - it is a dream.

During savasana, the lights in the studio are dimmed and the ceiling fans are making their familiar squeaking sounds as the blades rain down sweet breezes (maybe that doesn't accurately describe the smell) --it's time to rest and give thanks to your body for the hard work its just completed, an acknowledgement of the gift you just gave yourself.

Now, there's probably some enlightenment stuff that's supposed to happen to as your clear your mind, but if you know me (or if you can surmise from my blog posts), it is virtually impossible for me to clear my mind for any amount of time, much less a few minutes. No, during savasana I am either doing one of two things - drifting off into a coma-like, semi-conscious sleep (this has only happened a few times) or thinking about things I need to do (and mind you, I am not just thinking at casual, walking pace speed, no I'm going a mile a minute from one random thought to another). Usually I'm thinking about something that is worrying me or a looming deadline or even a far off deadline - the things in my life that might or could weigh me down.

But today, I have to admit, I was thinking about my blog because I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. In particular, I was reflecting on something that my yoga teacher said during class. As we were yoga breathing and doing our downward facing dogs, she told us to think about how we can get so focused on the goal, we don't stop to enjoy the journey.

This rings so true to me. As Oprah said the other day in her Season 25: Behind the Show series after filming a show with The Judds, "I had a breakthrough." Well, Oprah and I have something in common now, besides charisma and intelligence - I had a breakthrough!

I got to thinking - when I get to yoga class, the first thing I think about is savasana - I jump straight ahead to my favorite part. I can't wait for those lavender-scented washcloths - seriously, I'm like Pavlov's dogs about those things. One reason - it means the class is nearly over, and let me tell you that after sweating out more water than you thought could be in your body for an hour and a half, you are definitely looking for signs that the end is near. I don't blame me - who could?

Why do I do that? Why is that my first thought? It's a recognition that many of us who are high achievers are taught to focus on the goal - "keep your eye on the prize" and "reach for new heights," "push yourself, you can get there." I know that deep down inside I am a believer in the journey, or maybe I just know that is how it should be - make every day count, carpe diem and all that. But in reality it's easy to lose track of that when your eyes are focused ahead all the time, instead out the car window...

The other difficulty is that journey can be a challenge to endure - it's often filled with fear, doubts, tears. There are those times when you can't see the end to a seemingly hopeless situation, it seems as there's no way out, or at the very least - that the "goal" is so far away, you feel as though you'll never achieve it. But, in my experience, if you stop and experience the journey, it can also be filled with laughter, memories and pure joy. It's those experiences that define us as people, steps to the goal that we should be relishing and cherishing with every breath. It's those things that we never get back - and if we don't stop enough to experience them, they won't even become memories that we can pull out of our library and rewind from time to time.

Just as in yoga as in life, it's hard to slow down and let the journey carry you, to fully commit yourself to the journey and only the journey. During class, I spend a lot of time intentionally throwing thoughts of "when will this torture end?" out of my mind. But, what I must do is embrace the journey - make every moment, every motion, every breath count. And at some point, I will find that I reached the goal without having to worry and fret about getting there. And, I have got to believe that if I freed up all that anxiety I've focused on the goal, I would find that I could make my poses stronger and accomplish feats I've never done before.

And in life, by intentionally taking time to enjoy the journey, delight in every second like it's the lavender wash cloth at the end of an awesome practice, I might find that I've achieved my goal without hardly trying or, maybe without even realizing it. And that I'll find that I've not just achieved the goal, but exceeded my wildest dreams. As we close out our practice, I'll close out my blog. Namaste.