Yoga as the Anitdote to Fixity by: Alison King Tigges

I was reminded in our most recent teacher training weekend the important role yoga plays in helping us where we feel stuck.  Whether this is physically, mentally, or emotionally, yoga is a tool to OPEN our bodies, minds and hearts.

My teacher Tias Little always says “Yoga is the antidote to fixity”.

We might be stuck in our bodies, stuck in certain ways of thinking, stuck in our habits (where we often don’t even see how stuck we are!) or stuck in specific feeling states---yoga helps!

I’m not sure about you guys, but I struggle with my share of stuck-ness, especially this time of year.  Feeling stuck is generally not fun! We need to move, shift, and be OPEN in order for things to flow properly. 

Yoga to the rescue! 

How?!

Even a few poses a day, a few classes a week, or a few minutes of meditation will do.  Something is surely better than nothing! We can all start somewhere.  Consistency wins, every single time. 

This is a busy time of year for all of us.  The weather is cold.  People are cranky.  It can be easy to let our yoga practice slip.  This is a prime example of being stuck in our thinking or habits!  This is precisely the time when we need yoga the most. 

Remember “yoga” at its core is not necessarily just handstands and hip openers (although it can be!).  But the true work of yoga, yoga off the sticky mat, as a way of being in the world.  This yoga is a lifelong path.

Yoga is a tool to help us where we are stuck.  But to be clear, it is not a magic bullet.  It’s not the end all be all that will solve all of our problems.  It is not a quick fix.  Has anyone ever actually found a good or healthy magic bullet?  Not me! One yoga class does not instantly un-stick us.  I am 2 decades into this yoga thing and am still a huge work in progress.  But the progress has been real and I am so grateful for this tool.  Plus, we know that all worthwhile things in life take time, consistency and a lot of grit. 

Yoga is a tool that has been around awhile and stood the test of time.  Just a few thousand years is all!

At One Tree yoga we truly believe (and have seen countless times firsthand) that little-by-little, day-by-day, minute-by-minute, that if we keep showing up, we can become less stuck in ALL ways.  And more importantly, we can be more open.