From Kristen Neff: Painful feelings are, by their very nature, temporary. They will weaken over time as long as we don't prolong or amplify them through resistance or avoidance [or exaggeration]. The only way to eventually free ourselves from debilitating pain, therefore, is to be with it as it is. The only way out is through.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, life brings unease, struggle, discomfort, and distress. Our lineages tell us that everything in awareness/consciousness comes and goes, but when we're in the middle of the experience, this can be hard to remember. One of the challenges in meeting these difficult and uncomfortable experiences is that instead of remaining in mindful awareness of the actual experience, our meaning-making brain begins to resist, exaggerate, or in some other way story tell about our experience rather than breathing and being with it so it can move through. We practice this, not by creating new pain in how we're practicing, but by being with how we actually are when we arrive on our mats, the discomforts we notice as we settle in, or the discomforts or painful emotions that come to our awareness as we engage with the asanas.
From Kristen Neff: Painful feelings are, by their very nature, temporary. They will weaken over time as long as we don't prolong or amplify them through resistance or avoidance [or exaggeration]. The only way to eventually free ourselves from debilitating pain, therefore, is to be with it as it is. The only way out is through. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMisha Butot RCSW, ERYT 500 is a longtime clinical social worker and senior yoga teacher living in Victoria, BC Archives
April 2024
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