When I arrived at yoga the other day I saw her sitting on her mat at the front of the room.
She was young, too young, and maybe that’s where my irritation began.
Or maybe it was because she was far too skinny and I prefer a yoga teacher with a little more meat on her bones, someone who is a bit more plump with life + age. Even her voice irritated me (a bit too California) and as we stretched, I wondered if her features were too big for her otherwise pretty face. (I know, grumpy, grumpy thoughts) These harsh judgements ran through my mind like ticker tape until she suggested we sing, to repeat after her, a prayer in Sanskrit.
And this is when I woke up.
Her singing voice was nothing like her speaking voice. It was pitch perfect, so beautiful, that all of us opened our eyes and watched her. Her eyes were closed in concentration + her hands were folded into prayer at her heart. None of us repeated the words, not wanting to interrupt the perfection of her song. We were rapt.
In one of the recordings I have of Eckhart Tolle, he is asked how you drop a certain way of thinking or change a belief, and he responded, “You just drop it. Like you would a bag of groceries. You just let it go.”
And so I did.
And when she said (during a thigh-burning squat pose) “Feel the heat. That’s where the transformation happens…”
I believed her.
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Drop it like it’s hot! 🙂 <3
Such a simple and awesome story. Thank you for this refreshing reminder.
this is so beautiful.
thank you for sharing your truth.
oxoxo
k
Yes. Yes. This is how it’s done.
Thank you for the reminder.
I’ve been in this place – and been able to let go.
xo
Really beautiful. So simple and so challenging. Lovely reminder.
Thank you for this reminder, Andrea!
I so love the feeling when I realize that it is so easy to let something go and just do it. To just drop it.
Another great story. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have found myself trying to do this. When I find I’m getting really grumpy about someone or something I try to pause and realign my thoughts. My negative thoughts don’t help me or them.
Andrea, I just wanted to say huge THANK YOU for this post and for your email reply to my comment.
That one single word reply of yours totally “transformed” my thoughts and feelings that evening and I knew right away that all the decisions I made that day, were right. Thank you!! It felt really good to just “drop it.”
Hope all is well at your corner of the world.
http://gabi.rytir.ca/be-real/
Oh yes! How I have been here and know this feeling. Thank you for sharing this and for sharing that quote – – – you just let go!
xo
Ha! Drop it like a hot potato. I know how to do that with a potato and thinking about my unwelcome negative thoughts, it seems like not a hard task. So simple and yet so full of truth. Love it and love you!
This is so timely! I just read some similar advice in “The Big Leap”. More related to the feeling of worry but those are unwelcomed too. Lately my mantra of sorts is to squeeze the thought like a ball and then drop it. I like the squeeze bit. But the dropping parts the key (and totally works!) 🙂
Sometimes we have to stop holding onto things simply because they are too heavy. Thanks for the beautiful reminder.
I love this. I can totally use this visual–you just drop it like a bag of groceries. Thanks!
Something that also works for me is to FULLY EMBRACE the irritation/grump/unreasonableness… take it to its fullest extent… which starts to amuse me. Once I’m laughing at myself, I can see things more clearly. (on the other hand, I am in full agreement with you that I prefer my yoga teachers a little more age/care-worn!)
Very clear internet site, regards for this post.