More Than Enough
"Whatever you have done is more than enough."--yoga teachers at Sangha Studio
During the pandemic I started taking online yoga classes in my living room (or on my porch, during summer months). I did yoga far more often once it became available to me at home. I went from taking class once or twice a week in a studio to daily sessions on Bear Hill. I have kept this up, although I average five classes a week now, not seven. Whether I take seven classes or just three in any given week, I remind myself that whatever I have done is more than enough.
“Is it though?” asks a nagging internal voice. “Yes, it is,” I answer, channeling the thinking of my yoga teachers.
Yes, it is more than enough. Sangha Studio teachers (Burlington, Vermont) regularly remind us at the end of classes that what we have done on the mat has been more than enough. We are reminded to congratulate ourselves for simply showing up to class. A full hour spent in child’s pose is a yoga class. Yes, it is.
Why is it that we need to repeatedly remind ourselves of our self-worth? Why is it that we need our yoga teachers to remind us to be kind to ourselves? We think we have all of this down, and then that self-judging voice rears up. We live in a goal-oriented society. Goals are good; they motivate us. But, some days, just showing up is good enough.
Before retiring from paid work, and throughout many years of raising children, I was rarely able to make the decision to rest rather than to take on what was next on my to-do list. A day off to rest, decided upon at the last moment or midway through a day? What was that?
These days I practice replacing thoughts like “I should weed that flower bed,” with “I could weed that flower bed.” Changing that one word in that statement changes the meaning and impact of the thought. It all gets done, eventually, or maybe something doesn’t get done.
[As I type this, I think (momentarily) “I should go start dinner,” which I then replace with the softer “could” version. And I don’t know if it’s like this for you, but I feel a lot less resistance to setting what I am doing aside to go start dinner soon.]
The bigger question, when shifting the “should” to “could” doesn’t change my motivation to get something done, becomes this:” Do I really want to do this now, or has whatever I have done today been more than enough?”
It can be very freeing, this concept of more than enough.
This is a lovely thought, Ann, and much appreciated! In recent years, I’ve been struck by how wayward my adherence to some of my former routines has become.
Given how abysmal my impulse control has been to refrain from engaging in such clandestine activities as buying and eating a candy bar, or watching one more inspirational video of a cat chasing a dog, I instead rely upon my impulse control to pause and reflect during such lapses. And maybe even put the candy bar down for one full breath or stop the video mid-chase.
Not exactly the same as validating any dedicated effort, however, small, but definitely within the same puppy playground, if not ballpark.