Helllooooo fam,
Hope you all are having as easy a holiday recovery as possible… mine has been a proper slap to the face so without further introduction, some thoughts:
I’ve been doing a lot of yoga lately…45% because it feels great and wholesome, 55% because I found a studio full of cool people I want to spend time around. A real win.
Meanwhile, I’ve been scrambling to get a restaurant open. The vast majority of my mornings begin with a knot in my stomach, anticipating the inevitable construction crisis of the day. There are often hidden tears of frustration - because this is painful and difficult and I have no idea what I am doing. As a type-A problem solver, I am constantly trying to figure a way out of all this unpleasantness - a new productivity app that will make it all easier, the fantasy that this chaos is only temporary, etc. On average, these things provide ~45min of relief and a monthly subscription I don’t need.
In most of our yoga classes, they start us off easy - some child’s pose, a little toe-touching, it’s allll about getting comfy and settled in. Pretty boring. Then follows 30min of various iterations of laying down to stand back up + excessive sweating + wondering how long this is going to be. It’s only after all of this that we’ll get to pigeon pose - the mothership. Every single time it is tense, full of pain points, and makes me question all of my life choices. It is what I look forward to every single class.
Pigeon pose feels juicy, complex, satisfying - it hurts so good. I relish in the struggle of it, genuinely enjoying every minute of it. When I sense the struggle-filled pose coming in the lineup, I smile.
I find myself wondering how to approach the rest of life - all its tensions, pain points and existential questions, the same way. To relish in the struggle, understanding that it’s exactly what we are here for - what makes life juicy, complex, and satisfying.
I like to think everyday I’m getting a little better at it - god forbid I actually crack a smile at the thought of a construction update!
Sending pigeon pose vibes to all for 2023!!!
Q: What makes life juicy, complex, and satisfying?
A: Opening a food source with all of those good adjectives!
Thank you for sharing the mantra: Laying down to Stand back up. Happy Pigeon Pose
You have an entire tribe around cheering and supporting you from all across the globe! You are making things happen! You have the will and the strength to this and conquer the world you want to live in xoxo