“The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.” ~ Pema Chödrön

Hello Friends,

If any of you have seen movies like the Last Samurai or Star Wars, the ancient warriors or jedis are compelling characters. A warrior accepts that she can never know what will happen to her next. Every time she goes into battle, she does not know what the outcome will be. In order to be able to be fully present, and see what she must do during these uncertain times, she trains and prepares.

Yoga, amongst many things, helps us to be a warrior of sorts. Its teachings and tools encourage us to experiment with becoming comfortable with uncertainty. To sit with the discomfort, to try not to run away from it or to push through it, but to sit, side by side with it.

When we practice asanas or meditate, thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations arise, and we have the opportunity to practice sitting with discomfort. And the more we “train”, we begin to see that these feelings are separate from us, and do not have to take us with them. We are not those feelings. This helps prepare us to sit with the uncertainty that life brings.

Sitting with uncertainty doesn’t mean we do nothing – learning to sit with uncertainty allows us to create the space, so that when we take action, it is with clarity. Our actions will not be distorted by fear, but be grounded in clarity and compassion.

Especially in uncertain times, I encourage each of us to turn to the practices that help us become comfortable with uncertainty. And I invite you to join me in “training to be a warrior of sorts”.

With gratitude,
Sandra
The Sacred Mat