Yin and the art of deep

As someone whose philosophy embraces the principle of "Do ONE THING and do it deep", it should come as no surprise that I am a big fan of the Yin approach when it comes to practising yoga.

That's where you get into a pose, make sure it's a moderately intense stretch, and you stay there, letting gravity or some props do the work. One pose, deep. No fidgeting, no moving from one pose to the next. No hot rooms. It's a practice that I started in and have continued through several lockdowns. It is my little piece of bliss every day.

Last week, after a particularly stormy night, I got up to start my morning with my current favourite yogi on my telly. I was relaxing into the third pose and found myself thinking, "Wow, we are doing this ONE THING for a very long time" until it dawned on me that something wasn't right.

Looking at the telly screen, I could see that in front of the reclined yogi was a small spinning circle as the channel kept trying to reload. The gale-force winds had knocked out the internet.

I've been pondering what that means for "deep". Is there a hidden message in there for me somewhere? Don't get stuck in deep? Meh. Or pay attention to deep? Maybe.

On reflection, my deep practice had made me a little more calm and flexible.

I recognised it was about time to be moving because of the time I had spent on the mat each day. I came out of this better for the slightly longer than expected time deep in one position. I knew what the counterpose would be and a couple of other poses I could do. SO I did them, and then, that was enough. I thanked my TV yogi and got up and on with the day.

Deep had given me the principles and the practice to carry on when things went a bit pearshaped. So keep going deep on THINGs that matter. It can help you get on with your work and your life no matter what.