More on effort, Abhyasa: Do or do not, there is not try

I've been thinking a lot about effort lately. (Actually, it looks like I've been thinking about it for a while!) In terms of my yoga practice and new teaching, effort seems to be emerging as the central theme. Abhyasa means practice. But it's not rote. It's effortful, intentional. It's value is in the process itself.

It's also related to a distinction I want to make regarding a concept I put forward in my last entry: happiness. When I talk about happiness here, I don't mean pleasure. I mean the satisfaction that comes with effort. There is no substitute for it.

In my yoga lab last night, we worked on two things: effort and focus. My client has the tendency to shut her eyes and sort of drift through the postures. My mantra for her was: Open your eyes! And I gave her a workout--right from the start. Lots of teaching assists. Lots of what I think of as coaching: push! energy! We worked her abs right at the beginning. We flowed through surya namaskara A three times. She broke into a sweat. She kept her eyes open. And in the end, her sivasana was more satisfying.

Effort is subtly different from "trying." It's value is in the process, but it's not without outcome. I think it's more that the outcome of effort, the result of effort may not be what you thought it would be, but it is more satisfying than something delivered by chance.

As Gioconda said, no one can do your yoga practice for you. It is your practice. Mary said, no one is going to steer your boat. It is your life. You had to do it for yourself. I want to emphasize that my understanding here is on the word DO. You have to DO. Krishna tells Arjuna he must act. Juan challenges me to ask myself why I teach one thing and not another, why I think something is a good idea. You must act with intention.

Therein lies the satisfaction.

It's not that the unexamined life is not worth living. It's not that the unlived life is not worth examining.

It is simply, both.