Yoga is all about Sweating the Small Stuff

  5 Kleshas

When I first started, I assumed that yoga would be all about “not sweating the small stuff”.  (Probably had something to do with that image in my head of a super-duper-happy yoga person.)   In actuality, yoga teaches us to be vigilantly aware of our suffering, especially the small stuff.       

This past Saturday, I popped popcorn and cracked a beer to enjoy an evening playing a new board game.  My husband started the tutorial by saying this game wasn’t terribly complicated, and proceeded to explain how to play.  But after a while, I began to suffer.  It started with a bit of embarrassment because I wasn’t understanding the game.  It moved into worry. (Was I brain-fuzzy? Was I getting sick?) Finally, It turned into plain-old frustration.  We had carved out this time to enjoy together.  I was disappointed.  

Yes, these are all small sufferings, but I decided to sweat the small stuff.  I thought through the 5 Kleshas (yoga’s 5 causes of suffering), and I rested on Avidya.  Avidya is when you hold onto something, like a thought or a memory or an expectation.  Expectation!  I took out my phone and looked up the complexity rating on our new game.  No wonder! This game was rated one of the highest complexities in our entire board game collection. I had spent that whole tutorial holding onto the expectation that this game was fairly easy and whammy - suffering.

I have to admit, I liked the thought of being that happy-place yogi who never sweats the small stuff.  But I think that’s because I had developed a bad habit of brushing my stress aside.  Now, yoga is teaching me ways for giving space and voice to my small stuff. 

Until next time,

Laura