Staying In the Grey

Yoga invites us into the grey space, the unknown, the in-between. In a way, I think this is a really radical concept for us and our culture to consider. In a yoga class, it’s sort of our job to stay in the in-between space and resist that temptation to label something as one or the other. The danger of polarizing a pose by judging how well we’re doing it or how we feel about it (i.e. I hate full wheel pose) robs us of the chance to truly experience that moment and simply bear witness. It's from that place we can take powerful action.

However, that doesn’t mean doing something that’s painful or simply not right in that moment — you still get to draw a line and choose for yourself what you do and don’t do. What it does mean is holding the space to observe and be willing to see the complexity of our body, hearts and minds in every pose and in every moment. The cadence of a yogi is slow and patient, knowing that we have everything we need available to us to do a pose, take a breath and act from a place of wisdom, grace and grit.

So, stay in the grey. Find the strength to slow down and embrace the slight discomfort which comes from staying the space in between. Being here affords us a bigger and more informed perspective and if you ask me, it’s where we can find the real richness of our yoga practice.