Soft and Strong: Not Just for TP!

Amazon Affiliate links in text

There are a few things that always keep coming up for me in my yoga practice. One of them is that my body doesn't look like the "typical" yoga teacher body. I'm in middle age, my waist is thicker than it used to be (having four kids in less than six years didn't exactly help there!) and to be honest, I was never what anyone would call "willowy." I have sturdy calves and wide hips.

I have a memory of my father calling me "soft" when I was young. It wasn't a compliment. As one does, I've carried that along with me since it happened, even though I've forgiven my dad for having been insensitive, and even though he's been gone for almost nineteen years. Every once in a while it comes to mind.

The interesting thing is that as I've learned more about Yoga (as a philosophy) the coloration of that interaction with my father has changed. He didn't mean it as a compliment, but really it was. You see, there are two sides to every coin. Without one of the two sides, the coin wouldn't exist. In Yoga, there are few references to Asana, or postures, in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. But when you pay attention to what is there, it's helpful. In Sanskrit, Yoga Sutra 2.46 is "sthira-sukham-asanam." This (according to Dr. Shyam Ranganathan of the Yoga Philosophy Institute in his Penguin Classics translation) translates to "postures to be assumed should be both still and pleasant."

Another way to say it is that they should be both strong and soft. If you are putting in a ton of effort and have no ease or softness in the asana, it's not correct. And I'm not talking about the external shape that someone might see with their eyes, I'm talking about the internal experience of the posture. Sometimes we can use a block or a strap, perhaps a bolster (I love these for their support!) or a blanket. If your knees are unhappy in kneeling poses, find some cushioning. These props can give us the ease and softness that is often missing in our practice.

So when you practice, give yourself the opportunity to find BOTH softness and strength! Toilet paper isn't the only place you want both of these qualities. I'm not sure what it says that I'm comparing my asana practice to toilet paper, but it feels illustrative nonetheless.

Soft, strong, and happy TP!