Pandoraspace

Lessons in humility

For a time, getting into many asanas was getting easier.  More often than not, I even found quiet in the pose.  Then I stopped doing Yoga for a time as I became busy with other things.  When I finally had the time to go back to class, I was extremely disappointed that I could not find quite even in the simplest of asanas.  To this day, I have not found quite even while sitting in sukhasana and simply saying “Om”.

I cannot describe in words this feeling of utter disappointment in not being able to find quiet in a pose. Perhaps I should just lift my arms up and scream my head out.  Maybe then you will understand how I feel.  Maybe…

When I tried to understand what was happening to me, I realized that I had been attending classes thinking that I had done an asana and there should be no problem in getting into it again.  As soon as this thought hit me, I told myself that I had to disabuse my mind of this. This way, I would have no expectation and not be over-confindent in myself.  I must learn humility.  I must.

I thought that the best way to disabuse my mind was to attend the basic classes.  I needed to re-learn the asanas.  

I attended the basic class today, which is taught by Susan, one of my classmates in the General Class (the class for people who already have some background in Yoga).  When Susan saw me, she looked surprised and immediately said that Rina was teaching during the week.  I told Susan that I was probably not prepared for a class with Rina yet as I had the flu last week and had not been practicing since.  I suppose that Susan was wondering why I was attending her class when were were classmates.  At the end of the class, Susan asked me how I found her class.  I told her that I thought her class was great and that her back was straight (for many asanas we need to keep our back straight).

Susan is actually one of my classmates who does very well during the class as she is focused.  Most of the time, Susan stays in the back of the class and she hardly says anything.  Susan is also a devoted practioner of Yoga.  She once told me that, when we do not have classes, she practices at home.  I am not surprised that she has been chosen to teach one of the classes.  The thing about Susan is that, she is very humble.  Unlike me, she probably does not dwell on how  perfectly she could execute an asana.

In today’s class, I learned the lesson of humility, not so much from doing the asanas, but from being inspired by my classmate and now teacher, Susan.