Weekly Letter: Learn your tendency

Awhile back I asked a few students to share with me a few things that frustrated them about yoga. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but every person’s answer had to do with themselves and their ability, discipline, etc. Not one answer was about anything I could do anything about.

I don’t think this was a case of them being kind to me. I think it is an accurate snapshot of the human experience. Another way the practice brings to light what we are working with in a way few other disciplines do.

This practice hold brutal truths and makes us face them-so long as we are in the practice. But walking away only prolongs our acknowledgement of their truths.

If you can’t lift a weight, you say, ‘I’m not strong enough.’

If you are avoiding your practice, you say, ‘I haven’t had time.’

The irony is time is found within the practice. When we do the work, time is created because the energy it took to do the mundane tasks of before, don’t take as long. The focus of the mind changes, the body works more efficiently. Time transforms.

Sometimes, it’s yoga mixed with other things that help us see where we are. Something that helped me was learning my habit-forming tendency. Gretchin Rubin wrote a book called, The Four Tendencies a few years ago and reading it was like a light bulb going off in my head.

Her theory is people are motivated in different ways and created 4 categories. By learning what my tendency was, I learned how to get out of my own way!

I have attached a link to the quiz for you to explore your own!

I'd love to hear what tendency you are!

~Carmen