Google “Learning to Fall” and “Yoga” and you will find there are a multitude of articles. Many advanced yoga postures put us upside down and crosswise; it is pretty much inevitable you will fall a few times as you learn them. Falling is part of the process, often even a good thing to help us with life in general. It assists our balance for unexpected tumbles off the mat, the slippery sidewalk, the banana peel.
“Falling”, or perhaps more accurately “Failing”, in yoga is a metaphor for life. We learn through failure, our own, or perhaps if we are observant, that of others. I am sure you are aware of the quote attributed to Thomas Edison’s search for ways to make lightbulb filaments last: "I haven't failed -- I've just found 10,000 that won't work." A few weeks ago, I was involved in a relatively high-profile virtual communications project. A first of its kind ag industry event attempted because of the COVID pandemic. It was by all descriptions, a total abject failure. Yet I was told: “Andy, please keep trying. It’s important that we figure out how to do this.” Sometimes things just do not go as expected and we learn from that. Witness for example recent events for SpaceX. Within a span of a week they had a rocket blow up in test, and yet a few days later put men into orbit. Total disappointment, total jubilation. When you fail, get up, tend to your wounds and bruises, and try again. If you have never failed, you have never tried. And that is not a life to live. (To be clear, my attempt of Revolved Triangle Pose - Parivrtta Trikonasana on a wobbly log was quite a reach. This posture is difficult for ACL-less Andy even on a flat yoga mat. Learn from me…)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorFarmer Archives
April 2021
Categories |