My classes have been sparse lately. If you want a private yoga class with me for darn near nothing, now is the time to come. Maybe it’s the change in the weather and daylight? Maybe people have the flu or pulled a muscle in their back? Maybe people are going for walks, starting new jobs, or visiting friends? I’m not taking it personally. Until someone tells me otherwise, I don’t think it’s about me. I’m guessing it is a combination of all the above, and even more than that a strong pull of inertia of the heart & mind.
The definition of inertia is that a body at rest or in motion will stay at rest or in motion until acted upon by an external force. If it was just about having an external force push you to get going, I think it would be easier. It’s the mind & spirit that seem to be the most stubborn and complicated to get out of the grip of inertia.
Where’s the external force to pull you out of depression or chronic pain? What’s the external force to yank you out of the river of anxiety? What about the inertia of addiction? It doesn’t take long for inertia to take hold in our mind. This is both a threat and a promise. It’s easy to slip down the slope of depression or addiction. It it a lot of work to act against it and get inertia moving in the other direction, towards health, light, hope. But, it works. It happens. You can get on that other side of inertia.
Inertia works in our mind as neural pathways. I am not a neuroscientist (obviously) but I know that our brain is constantly shaping and reshaping. It is malleable. Our brain – thoughts – big ideas – perceptions are not fixed. We can and do create new habits, new perceptions, new slippery slopes of inertia–> new neural pathways All The Time.
I think one strong force to act against the inertia of isolation, chaos, depression, lethargy, frustration, (blah, blah) is community. Being part of a writing group gets you to write. Meeting a friend for a walk or run helps get me out the door. I say at the end of every class (whether there are 20 people or 1 blessed soul) that it makes a difference that you are there. I mean it. You keep me showing up for class. We keep each other showing up. My yoga practice has become what it is because you are part of it. Practicing yoga in front of a t.v. is hard, lonely work. Practicing yoga in a community of support, accountability, and hope-filled inertia makes all the difference in the world to me. I think community might be part of the magical external force that makes a change in inertia and keeps it going in the right direction.
So, if we haven’t seen you for a while, know that we miss you and will be so happy to see you again. If you life far away, I hope you can find a community of support and good inertia where you are. It makes a difference. You don’t have to do it all by yourself.
Peace on your head,
Rachel
