My Yoga Journal Day 37: It Doesn't Have To Be So Hard All The Time

Yoga teaches me to follow my bliss.

I once thought that in order for something to be effective, it had to be hard. Many of us feel the rush of pushing past our perceived threshold to new areas of physical experience. It makes us feel empowered to overcome a challenge.

But there is a balance in all things, and there is an equal empowerment available to us when we allow ourselves to be at ease. I remember when a teacher gave us permission to find ease in our movement. “What a concept”, I thought “I’m going to try a little less and relax more.” A rush of endorphins flowed through my veins, a soft warmth and vitality I’d never felt. My nervous system had received valuable information: “It’s okay to soften”; and responded with a pleasant sense of ease.

“This is bliss.” I thought.

In a yoga class, we are programming our cells, teaching them how to respond to stimuli once we leave the mat and step into the world. When I started to practice ease in my movements and allowed for softness, my everyday life presented the ease I’d embraced in my yoga practice.

Following my bliss means following the effortless flow of conscious ease. It’s not easy to follow, quite the opposite. Sometimes I’m convinced that in order for a project to be fruitful, it needs to be work, it needs to be challenging, but it doesn’t. That’s not to say I’m not faced with challenges; but I breathe into them, lean into them, love into them, smile into them, until they release and soften. This is the path of pleasure, the path of ease, the path of following your bliss.