It’s June and my children are having a hard time focusing on their schoolwork.  In addition to the fact that homework has monopolized their attention for the past nine months and they’re simply ready for a change of pace, it seems like the world around us is conspiring to distract them.  The warm weather is practically an engraved invitation for outdoor play.  The longer days are enticing us to head back outside for after-dinner walks.  And, when the sun finally does go down, the fireflies have returned, twinkling in the backyard teasing my children with the promise of a glowing chase.

 

All these things are sure signs that summer is (or should be!) upon us.  But it’s not.  There are three weeks remaining in the school year.  My oldest just found out the hard way that coasting is not good enough when his teachers sent a disappointed email to my husband and me.  It’s not that he’s dropped out or anything.  He’s been showing up and paying attention in the classroom.  He continues to participate whole-heartedly in the group projects that he thrives on. And he’s way ahead in the novel the class is reading because my son has never met a book he could put down.  It’s the other stuff he’s slacked off on.  The homework.  The in-class paperwork.  The organization of his binders and notes.   He’s figured out how to squeak by.  He’s figured out how to be a student without taxing himself.  He’s gotten a little lazy and a lot complacent.

 

In yoga-speak, he’s let his pendulum swing from effort to ease.  Yoga asana teach us to find balance between the effort we pour into a posture and the ease we feel while in it.  While we seek both in each posture while we practice, depending on the day, the balance between the two will shift and change.  There will be times when we’re feeling less motivated and the lure of finding a comfortable place in a posture is tantalizing.  These are the days when it is helpful for us to apply more effort and exertion in our stretches.  In other words, these are days when we need to work a little harder.  Doing so helps us to leave our mats feeling more energized than when we stepped onto them.

 

There will also be times when we come to our mats wound super tight – stressed or nervous or jazzed.  These are days when our natural pace is lightning fast and we are tempted to push ourselves deeper or further into stretches than is safe.  These are times when it is extra-beneficial to settle into a comfortable place in a posture and just be.  Doing so helps us to feel calmer and more grounded after we roll up our mats than when we unfurled them.

 

Yoga is a practice designed to bring us back into balance.  While each are normal to experience from time to time, neither lethargy or hyperactivity is a balanced state.  Neither is a healthy or productive way to live.  Depending on the day and our intention, yoga can pep us up or settle us down.  It is up to us to determine what we need from our practice each day.  As we begin to move, if we are practicing with awareness, we can determine how to move and breathe to bring our energy back into balance so we can leave the mat in the frame of mind that is one of yoga’s greatest gifts – settled, focused and calm, yet energized, mentally sharp and ready to take on whatever life sends our way.

 

It’s not just school children yearning for summer who can get complacent in their work.  I know that I’m sliding in that direction when I regularly leave my mat without having broken a sweat, when I find that I’m coasting through my practices effortlessly, when I’m not challenged by any of the postures.  Honestly, this has been happening a lot the last several weeks.  Interestingly, during this same time, I’ve felt lethargic off my mat.  One day last week, I really ramped things up in my practice.  I started to search for my edge in postures that can be quite easy for me.  I started to pull myself out of my comfort zone where I’d gotten quite … well, comfortable.  My practices certainly got hotter and sweatier, which feels great.  But what I’m really pleased about is how I feel off my mat.  My energy is a little peppier and my outlook is a little brighter.  I’m confident this is not a coincidence.

 

I’m also confident that it’s pretty near impossible for my kids’ passion for school to return to its September levels before their summer vacation.  That said, I suspect my son was secretly relieved that his teachers wrote home.  It reinforced their expectations of him.  It reinforced that his effort is necessary and rewarding.  Doing the work is harder than not, no doubt about it.  But, interestingly, as he has stepped it up academically, I’ve noticed a little more enthusiasm and excitement from him.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so!

 

Namaste,

Amy

 

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