NO. NO THERE ISN’T
Hello there! I hope this week finds you watching The Great British Bake Off and crying...or is that just me? I'm sipping Earl Grey Tea this morning and thinking about pleasure.
Last week I talked about confrontation and what it might mean for us when it shows up. This resonated with many of you and I really appreciated your comments and emails. These things are not easy, but I think that they are made less scary when we realize that we are not alone.
This week, I'm swinging over to the other side of the spectrum and exploring the idea of pleasure in my own life and as my theme in class. I recently went to my first in person yoga class in two years. It was emotional to be back in a room with people (some of them former students) and it was also confronting. I know, I know! I promised you pleasure, and we are getting there :) As is often the case, I was the biggest bodied person in the room and since some people recognized me as a teacher, and honestly sometimes just because I'm big, I feel the need to do more, to push harder and to prove a point and drop kick possible assumptions across the room.
However! I didn't sign up for that. I signed up because I wanted the experience. Because I've missed seeing people. Because it gives me great pleasure (there it is!) to be moving and breathing collectively. So knowing all of that and the fact that I would possibly find my ego rising up, I made my intention one of pleasure. To remind myself that I signed up to move and breathe in a way that feels good to me. Not to prove anything to anyone, not even myself. And every time I felt myself wavering or getting judgemental, I came right back to pleasure.
In this society we often feel like pleasure has to be earned. That we have to achieve something before we can experience pleasure. But I really want to find more pleasure in the process. In the day to day. To invite pleasure into those moments where I know I might get caught up in other feelings. If your goal in yoga is to do a handstand, why not find pleasure along the way? In the wobbles and the tumbles and the days where you primarily lie down on the mat. If you're chasing a dream, find pleasure in the chase. This is living. Why delay pleasure when the possibilities for it are all around you?
And specifically to my friends out there struggling in their bodies, remember that pleasure is not reserved for those with "perfect" bodies. This is called marketing. How else would the diet and wellness industry make so much damn money? Pleasure is a feeling, not an aesthetic. It comes from within and resides in your body. You are allowed to feel it in this moment, in this body, in this breath. So take it!
As you move through this week, remember to treat yourself and your body with love, respect and kindness.
Much love,
Helen xo
