JUST DO IT!
“Discipline must be without control, without suppression, without any form of fear...It is not discipline first and then freedom; freedom is at the very beginning, not at the end.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known
I don’t know about you, but I can go through phases of not doing what I love most - yoga and writing. I practice different kinds of yoga and I write fiction and nonfiction (so far, just for me!). Both yoga and writing make me feel free, whole and alive. But when I don’t write or practice yoga regularly, I feel far from free. I feel trapped in living a half-life. So why do I purposely get in the way of doing the good things and then wonder why I feel a bit rubbish? This is not a blog about the psychology of self-sabotage, but just a brief, unfinished beginning to explore threads of similarity I can draw between writing and yoga and discipline and freedom. Maybe some of it will resonate with you?
Actually, before I go on, I’ll get to it – what I’m really trying to say here is that I dare myself and you to DO MORE YOGA! Or anything else that feels good. You can do more yoga with me or with someone else, online or in a public class, early in the morning, the middle of the day, or the evening. And as Krishnamurti suggests above, try letting a little bit of discipline flow from the freedom of knowing what you really want to do and how you want to feel. This is at least what I’m trying to do at the moment. I reckon as a result, you and I will experience more freedom in body and mind than we may have expected.
I used to get up 6 days a week at 6am and practice yoga, breathing and meditation for sometimes up to 3 hours a day. I still do this but not nearly as often. I used to sit and write for 3 to 4 hours a day and with a clear sense of purpose. After a lapse, I’ve just got back to writing fragments and remembering how I love the way words come from somewhere beyond me and shine on the page – a little bit like sensing the energy of a yoga pose travel through and around my body. I’ve decided to go back to a bit of rigour with both writing and yoga and so far, it’s feeling good!
I’m chewing over Krishnamurti’s words above – his suggestion that freedom is at the beginning and not at the end. Nowadays, the idea of discipline is frightening to me and at first glance, seems like the opposite to a life of freedom. But I think what Krishnamurti is saying - maybe ironically - is that we can come to what we really want out of life from a place of spaciousness, from a place of freedom. And from that, flows the intention and a bit of discipline.
You may well think this has nothing to do with you – but I suppose I’m wondering about how many people who read my newsletters/blog posts, have a hot-cold relationship with yoga (and maybe writing or something else)? How important is a regular yoga practice to you? I don’t mean 3 hours – I mean 10 minutes or maybe more…..? How do you feel when you practice regularly? How do you feel when you don’t? I’m not trying to convince you to come to classes if you’re not already – but I am so aware myself how easy it is to lose touch with the good things and then how life-affirming and invigorating it is to come back to the mat most days and for me, to scribble a few words after that.
Sometimes I’m stiff. Sometimes my words are embarrassing to read the next day. But I really love what the artist Sol Dewitt wrote to another artist Eva Hesse about her creative process. For me the advice is the same for yoga and writing – just DO IT!
Sol Dewit Letter to Eva Hesse
“Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping,…Stop it and just DO!…
Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you – draw & paint your fear and anxiety…
You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO!…
Try to do some BAD work – the worst you can think of and see what happens but mainly relax and let everything go to hell – you are not responsible for the world – you are only responsible for your work – so DO IT. And don’t think that your work has to conform to any preconceived form, idea or flavor. It can be anything you want it to be…
I know that you (or anyone) can only work so much and the rest of the time you are left with your thoughts. But when you work or before your work you have to empty you [sic] mind and concentrate on what you are doing. After you do something it is done and that’s that. After a while you can see some are better than others but also you can see what direction you are going. I’m sure you know all that. You also must know that you don’t have to justify your work – not even to yourself.”