Transitions

The word transition is defined on dictionary.com as “movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change.”

What is it about “change” that makes us all so uncomfortable? How is it that we can deny that the one constant in our existence here on earth is change? Why do we hold on to things for dear life, or fear that we will suffer so much when they change? 

When I went through my yoga teacher training back in 2002 I was in the midst of many large life changes, ones I had never anticipated or planned for. Each day was filled in part with fear and anxiety, which were quieted only by either the sweet interactions I had with my three children, or on my yoga mat, breathing through my asana practice. My teacher training was intense in numerous ways. It happened during a time in my life that felt like a part of me was dying and another part was being born. We spent hours breaking down poses, focusing intensely on tiny muscles and rotations of the shoulders, hips and knees, but the one thing that stuck the most with me, even 19 years later, was the emphasis on staying present through the transitions that link the asanas (poses). The lesson was that since we spend so much time on the actual asana, the pose, how was it that when the time came to the transition between the poses, that things would deteriorate and our minds would either get stuck in the past, maybe thinking how well or how miserably the last pose was done, or we would be in anticipation of the next pose and thinking about how well or miserably we would accomplish that. With this constant focus on the past or the future, the moment to moment event, the transition, was neither focused on or within our awareness, and therefore, it lost its ability to have any sense of grace or integrity. 

Most yogic teachings can be applied to daily life, and this one felt like a huge light bulb shining above my head. I was moving from one life, one identity into a totally different life with a new identity, and the thing I experienced in the space between the two were fear and anxiety. It was only through this yogic teaching of staying present with intention through the transitions of the practice that I came to realize that the same was needed in my personal life. I could give just as much attention to the way I was moving from one identity to another, from one home to another, from one marital status to another, as I had given to each full state. The small steps I needed to take between the two states were no less important than the states themselves. And thus began my practice of mindfulness off the mat. 

What is there for you to slow down and notice as you move from one life stage to another?