{"id":1094,"date":"2010-03-04T19:10:58","date_gmt":"2010-03-04T23:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=1094"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:36:52","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:36:52","slug":"practice-does-not-mean-perfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2010\/03\/practice-does-not-mean-perfect\/","title":{"rendered":"Practice Does Not Mean Perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"

I practice yoga.
\nI have to continually remind myself of that notion.\u00a0 I PRACTICE yoga.\u00a0 I continually strive to be better at it.\u00a0 But sometimes, I forget about the “Practice” part, and I try too hard to be Perfect…which is how I’ve ended up with two yoga injuries six months apart.
\nHow can something that is GOOD for me turn ugly?\u00a0 Well, let me tell you, it ain’t easy.
\nMy Yoga Story<\/strong>
\nMy interest in yoga began eight years ago when my daughter, home on break, asked me to go with her to a Beginners Workshop on the other side of town.\u00a0 I went, I got hooked.\u00a0 Over time I have progressed from doing a few poses (or asanas) purely for the stretch value to now practicing intermediate yoga asanas to calm my mind, practice my breathing, and strengthen my ability to be fully present.
\nThe whole point of yoga (which translates as “union”) is to help one connect body, mind, heart, and soul; and to accept and work with one’s limitations.\u00a0 It is about acceptance.
\nOh, and did I mention that when you practice yoga regularly it tones muscles, improves balance, dramatically increases core strength, and FEELS fabulous?\u00a0 Yes, and that is where I get in trouble.
\nI REALLY like that physically fit thing.\u00a0 So, when I do a downward dog, I REALLY do a down dog.\u00a0 And the leg stretch in Warrior poses?\u00a0 I have to stretch to the max, and do a PERFECT pose, like the guys in the pictures in Yoga Journal.\u00a0 Which is how I injured my hips doing yoga last year… and why I now have shoulder problems.
\nYes, I over-yoga’d. \u00a0\u00a0 Sigh.
\nDo you REALLY need to be Perfect?<\/strong>
\nHave you ever done something like that?\u00a0 Gotten yourself so wrapped up in something you do that you just have to be PERFECT?\u00a0 Hey, don’t deny it, you have.\u00a0 It may not have been yoga.\u00a0 Maybe it was soccer.\u00a0 Or being the perfect spouse.\u00a0 Or perfect parent.\u00a0 or completing the P90X program – twice.\u00a0 Or gardening to excess.\u00a0 Or obssessing about fat\/sugar\/salt in your diet.\u00a0 Or getting all As in school.\u00a0 Or playing World of Warcraft.\u00a0 Or being PERFECTLY Happy?
\nIt’s not about the physical part, it’s about the conversation of needing\/wanting to be perfect, to do it right, to follow it all the way to the end.
\nBe Perfect ABOUT your Practice
\n<\/strong>
\nExercising my body, in the end, is not about being perfect — it is about being fully present to the process what’s going on with me.\u00a0 Being present means that I cannot come onto the yoga mat with an “agenda.” It can actually harm me to be too “determined,” about always getting it “right.” A better approach, I am reminded by one of my teachers, is to approach my yoga practice with equal parts patience and persistence, and to say, “I will do the best that I can, with what I have, today.” <\/strong><\/em>
\nAnd that is such a lovely approach to… well, just about everything: sports, school, parenting, marriage, diet, video games, and even happiness.\u00a0 You’ll simply never get it perfect every time, but you CAN be perfect in your practice, always learning, always getting back up and trying again when you fall.
\nSo, as I nurse my inflamed shoulder back to health, I have learned how to modify my down dog so I’m no longer hyperextending my shoulder.\u00a0 I’m kinder to my hips when I stretch.\u00a0 And I don’t expect myself to be happy ALL the time.
\nBut I keep practicing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I practice yoga. I have to continually remind myself of that notion.\u00a0 I PRACTICE yoga.\u00a0 I continually strive to be better at it.\u00a0 But sometimes, I forget about the “Practice” part, and I try too hard to be Perfect…which is how I’ve ended up with two yoga injuries six months apart. How can something that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228,40],"tags":[281,115,211],"yoast_head":"\nPractice Does Not Mean Perfect - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2010\/03\/practice-does-not-mean-perfect\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Practice Does Not Mean Perfect - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I practice yoga. I have to continually remind myself of that notion.\u00a0 I PRACTICE yoga.\u00a0 I continually strive to be better at it.\u00a0 But sometimes, I forget about the “Practice” part, and I try too hard to be Perfect…which is how I’ve ended up with two yoga injuries six months apart. How can something that ... 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