Jennifer Snowdon
  • Buteyko Breathing
  • Workshops & Webinars
    • Traumatic Stress & the Breath
    • Intro to Science of Breath
    • Intro to Yogic Breath
    • 300h YTT
  • Read/Watch/Chat
    • About Jennifer
    • COVID-19
    • Second Breakfast
    • Newsletter
    • Contact
Second Breakfast

Wet, Rainy, Windy & Cold

27/10/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​The seasons are changing. I've been seeing snow on people's Facebook posts (although not in my own garden yet). And today's walk was unpleasant. It was wet, and windy, and cold. The rain was kinda misty and everywhere. 

We have an aversion to the unpleasant. We seek out pleasant things, sometimes at costs to ourselves. Thinking that we will find happiness in things, experiences, people outside of ourselves, we pursue these things, experiences, interactions that make us feel good, and avoid those that make us feel unhappy, unpleasant. Now, I'm not suggesting that the things that make us feel good are bad, and I'm not saying that we should look to be uncomfortable all the time. But, rather, as Swami Vivikananada said, "Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes."

​So, as I walked in the uncomfortable cold, trying to find the happiness within, I thought of things that I say to my students while I'm teaching them. There are several poses that we do in Yin classes (sometimes — don't be afraid to come to class, I don't do these very often, and there are always modifications) that are uncomfortable. I remind people to stay with the discomfort, to be aware of what the mind is doing, of how it tries to talk us out of the discomfort (It's ok, you can just leave for a moment. Or, forget it, this is awful, I'm outta here!). It's in the discomfort that changes occur. It's when we push ourselves out of our comfort zones that the magic starts to happen.

I don't know if magic happened on my walk. I walked. I came home. I certainly felt good for having exerted myself, and for having accomplished what I set out to do. I was cold, though, and that took some time to lessen. The word of Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet, came to mind. "If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?"

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

      

    Welcome to my blog. It's about yoga, movement, breathing, design, books, and me.
    ​
    I tend to take in food like I take in information in small, digestible bits, even eating breakfast in two or three parts. Second Breakfast is something small to read, something to feed the brain or the soul, and goes well with a cup of tea.

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    March 2017
    October 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Anatomy
    Breathing
    Design
    Food
    Meditation
    Movement
    Philosophy
    Trauma
    Walking
    Words & Pictures
    Workshop
    Yoga
    Yoga Life

    RSS Feed

PRIVACY POLICY
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Subscribe to my Newsletter

​Jennifer Snowdon  ©2021   ✉️ ​breathe@jennifersnowdon.ca​
  • Buteyko Breathing
  • Workshops & Webinars
    • Traumatic Stress & the Breath
    • Intro to Science of Breath
    • Intro to Yogic Breath
    • 300h YTT
  • Read/Watch/Chat
    • About Jennifer
    • COVID-19
    • Second Breakfast
    • Newsletter
    • Contact