Notice the words ‘flow’ and ‘force’?
Flow and force can be used as opposites as far as verbiage goes, or they can be similar to one another as nouns. I find it funny how often we mix them up when we are truly wanting the ‘flow’ of life and creativity to happen, that we actually stop the flow by forcing it. Paradoxical I say!
How can we have them be similar versus what we often do by having them oppose one another like oil and water? We need to trust more that we are doing our best with what we are given at this very moment in time. We often can become out of the flow of life by forcing things to happen, versus portraying the amount of patience that we need in order to let whatever we desire to grow at it’s own pace.
Beyond watching people that we admire with the qualities of that “flow” that we all want and seek, where can we find inspiration for this ‘flow?’
Get outside, especially now that it’s spring time. Pick a flower or a bud of a flower and just stare at it. You screaming at it to grow isn’t going to force it grow. However, nourishing it with proper water and minerals, and adequate natural sunlight will provide it the opportunity to bloom with the flow of nature.
The same goes for everything in nature. You can’t force the sun to stay up, or the stars to hide away. You can’t force the leaves of the trees from turning vibrant green, or stop the grass from growing daily. When we learn how to go with the flow of nature, we accept it’s natural qualities and can utilize them to the fullest.
But, as mentioned with the flower or bud, in order for it to eventually bloom, it needs nourishment. The same way we do. Feed it with proper sources of fuel in forms of food, movement, positive relationships with ourselves and others, a healthy career, and connected to something higher than ourselves, and boom! You can’t help but bloom…in your own way, when the time is right.
Use this today while on the mat. How often do you want to force a pose that your body isn’t ready for yet. Or like tonight, how can we truly practice being in restorative postures as opposed to our more heat producing practice. How often can you breathe into the posture, accepting what your body is allowing you to create today?
Tonight we work on “being” rather than “doing.”
At the end of class:
Force versus flow. We want the force to be flowing out of you in a good way, and not forcing a flow to be generated instead. Practice this today and always off the mat when you are trying to force something in your life. When this happens, go outside immediately and try to force the sun to stop shining or try and force your entire freshly planted garden bloom immediately.
When you see how little power you have over these everyday naturisque qualities, maybe this will transcend over into your mentality of trying to force something that will come as long as you nourish it, but not before it’s ready.
Namaste,
Megan Church
CEO of MangoFuel LLC
mangofuel3@gmail.com
765-620-9227