I’m in Sydney at the moment, where the cafe society is a way of life. Up our way on sleepy Mitchell Island, we travel to the soporific Waterbird for our coffee. The owners, we’ve been told, will close the cafe if customers seem to have vanished.
Daniel & I had the pleasure of doing a yoga class with John Norris, who I recommend to you (at Simply Yoga).
During the class, I noticed that I was pushing myself rather more than I would in my home practice, and diving in without much of a warm-up, too.
I definitely wanted to be seen by the others in class as doing well with my new hips/legs. But I also wanted to explore the limits of my strength, flexibility and endurance.
I reckon that’s a good thing. As I sit here nursing a small bowl of cafe latte (a coffee size that’s not yet an option at our local cafe), the brave young Jessica Watson is sailing into Sydney Harbour.
She’s now the record holder for youngest round-the-world solo sailor.
Did she push herself? I can’t even imagine the levels of “stretching” herself she’s explored. Her life has changed forever because she pushed herself, even in the face of parental disagreement.
As for me, sixty-five years old with titanium hips, my pushing is more circumspect. With my titanium hardware, my mind is in the process of writing a new software program for my body. Or overwriting the old program, perhaps.
Patanjani described the process as abhyasa and vaigraha – disciplined practice (that’s the pushy bit) with a detached approach (that’s where your antenna are out, watching for hidden shoals).
I betcha anything, even Jessica, at her young age, must have been practicing these precepts.