“If, when swimming, you are caught in a strong current, it is fatal to resist. You must swim with it and gradually edge to the side. One who falls from a height with stiff limbs will break them, but if he relaxes like a cat he will fall safely. A building without “give” in its structure will easily collapse in storm or earthquake, and a car without the cushioning of tires and springs will soon come apart on the road.”
- Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity
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Change is hard, but it’s our ability to absorb the shock, find a way to relax into discomfort, and adapt that gets us through it. In yoga, the more we push, the more our body tightens. So too, the harder we try, the more rigid we often become. The harder we work to be better, do more, and pursue perfection, the more self-doubt and impostor syndrome takes over. The harder we focus on getting the words out exactly right, the more the brain loses them.
Instead, the answer often lies in letting go and learning to relax into change, challenge, and their associated growing pains. To be gentle. And to flow with, rather than struggle against, the water.
