FLOWING > forcing

Photography by Sarah Halwani

There are so many things in life that no matter how hard we try, we simply cannot force. We can’t force our creative process, we can’t force someone to change, we can’t force love & we definitely can’t force our healing.

When we try to force things, we either end up completely hitting a wall or finding ourselves where we never intended to be (whether physically or emotionally). The same rings true when forcing our physical body into places it’s not ready to go.

In yoga, you’ll often hear your teachers reminding you to find your edge, to push yourself to a new milestone... but at the same time, to ease into it... to feel into it... to know when your body is asking you to stop... to know the difference between the good discomfort & the bad discomfort. To F L O W with your own pace, your own body, your own rhythm... & to never second guess it.

In yoga, the word “flow” is thrown around a lot, and I think that because we associate flowing with connecting each posture or sequence with fluid movement, we’ve forgotten the true meaning. The meaning that applies both on & off our yoga mats.

flow: verb \ flō \ to proceed smoothly and readily

When we’re truly flowing, we’re moving through our yoga practice with ease. We’re connecting our movements to our breath. We’re finding our edge, but listening to our body.

force: verb \ ‘fors \ to produce only with unnatural or unwilling effort

Forcing is the opposite of flowing. Flowing comes naturally, while forcing does not. In yoga, we never want to force our bodies into a pose that doesn’t feel good. We can hurt ourselves trying to find the full expression of a pose when we know our body doesn’t have the flexibility or mobility necessary to get there. 

This is why it’s so important for us to tune in and listen to our bodies & SURRENDER to our own flow. When we start to really listen, we no longer feel the need to force anything.

How can we take this idea of FLOWING > forcing off the mat? By applying that same SURRENDER to every... and I mean every area of our lives.

Didn’t land your dream job? That just means something better is on its way. Had a dead end conversation about racism with your one of your racist relatives? Share your opinion and move on. Unfortunately, you will never be the reason they change their opinion (they need to want to change their opinion). Can’t quite get the creative juices flowing on a big project? Stop trying to force the inspiration, take a step back & let the ideas come to you instead.

It can be hard to surrender and trust that you will find your flow, especially if you’ve lived a life of go, go, go or constantly are pushing yourself onto what’s next. But when you start to trust and you start to live in your flow, so many more doors open up because you’re no longer forcing yourself in one direction, but remaining open to whatever possibilities are out there… possibilities you might not have considered before because you were so busy forcing yourself into one “box”.

So, I’ll leave you with this: next time you feel yourself getting stuck… pause… take a step back… and ask yourself: “Am I getting stuck here because I’m trying to force something?” and listen to your gut. If the answer is yes… ease up a bit. Give yourself a break. Maybe even step away from whatever you’re trying to force for a little bit. Give yourself some space and allow yourself to flow back into it when the timing is right. The Universe is never going to let something that’s for you pass you by… so trust the process and allow yourself to surrender… the end result (and the journey to get there) will be so much more enjoyable that way.

xo,
Kelsey