The time to step through is now.

Atha

Yoga Sutra 1.1

Hi, my name is Laura, and I’m a window shopper.

Ever watch a cooking show all the way through but never actually make the dish? Spend 30 minutes looking through online classes and 0 minutes actually doing one? Follow a group on social media, but not actually attend any of the actual group gatherings? Yep. Window shopping.

And during Covid, window shopping became even easier.

Of course, the problem with window shopping is that you only see the shiny bits. You don’t mess up on that dish three times before finally gaining the satisfaction of nailing it. You don’t pause the class 4 times while cursing the smiling, pregnant instructor. (And then repeat the class multiple times in two weeks until you can do it through.) You don’t experience attending the group gathering and get stuck next to “the talker” (who drives you nuts and then becomes one of your best friends.)

As we step into spring, I can almost feel the shiny bits streaming in, fresh and new. And sadly, I feel like there are some in the health industry that are ready to capitalize on this. “In one short month you’ll look better and feel better about yourself.” Sigh. But perhaps the key is to walk through that window anyway. Just do it. The shiny bits will soon wear off, the Real will reveal itself, and then we can stay or move on. Interestingly, the first word in the 2,000-year-old Yoga Sutra is atha, which means “now”. I suspect us window shoppers have been around longer than windows themselves!

One of my teachers once said, “yoga doesn’t make your life better. But if it’s for you, it can make you a little better at life.” So here’s to throwing open the window and finding a few more things that make us a little better at doing Life.

Until next time,

Laura