commitment

The idea of commitment has been on my mind the last couple days and we briefly chatted about it this morning at the 9:15 vinyasa class. A super sweet yogini asked me about my yoga practice and I explained to her that I typically do an asana practice each day. Some days it's longer, some days it's shorter. It depends on how much time and energy I have. But I have made the commitment to get on my mat, even on those days that I don't want to. Taking the time to practice is a commitment that I've made to myself.

Yesterday morning I started my day with my early morning walk and instead of making my way straight to my yoga room I got sidetracked by a couple of things I (thought I) had to do. After finsihing the tasks I almost blew my yoga practice off. Instead I rationalized spending at least 10-15 minutes on the mat and see what happened. And just as I imagined the 15 minutes quickly faded to 30, then 45.

While I was practicing a variation of half moon pose, I could literally feel myself not commiting to the posture....mentally or physically. I felt like I was on shaky ground. And after just a little bit of reflection I realized it was because I was not commiting to the posture. I wasn't sure of myself, my legs, or my ability to find a sense of balance.

I released back into triangle pose, affirmed my commitment to the pose and went straight into it, made the bind I had so desperately tried for just moments earlier. The second time around I was sure of myself and my ability to find ease in the pose. And I can confidently say that my mind and the commitment made all the difference.

Later upon more reflection (I reflect a lot, just ask Andy ;-)I realized that when I've set a clear intention, followed by a firm commitment, all the things/ideas/goals/jobs presented themselves.

Of course, like all things in life we can't simply state a commitment and expect it to happen without the much needed work that's involved. I doubt that you'd commit to practice handstand without a wall and not do the work involved to practice the pose with success.

So set your intention.
Make the commitment.
Follow it up with the work involved.

What areas of your life to do need to make a much needed commitment?
Is in on the yoga mat, at your job, in your relationships, your habits, etc.?