Punishment & Reward
The prompt for this week's Sunday Scribblings is 'Punishment & Reward'.
One of the first things that came to mind when I saw the prompt was the memory of a student once asking Harisant (yoga teacher) during a yoga class why he was 'punishing' us. She was joking, but at the height of her muscular pain she meant it. Sometimes we have to hold a particular position or repeat certain movements for so long that the unused muscles start to hurt and burn so much that you don't know whether to laugh or cry or both. Harisant shouts out: "Keep up! Keep up! Only seven more minutes!"
Aaaargh! And those who have the strength or desire will 'keep up' until we break that invisible threshold and move past the pain. The reward is the moment of moving past the pain, the rush of energy and the light feeling that comes with the release, getting to lie down on the yoga mats and relax completely at the end and the sense of accomplishment of having not given in or given up.
It reminds me of life in a 'this too shall pass' kind of way. Sometimes situations may hurt and going through them feels hard. But once we 'keep up' and get past the threshold of pain, the reward is there to greet us.
Keep up.
One of the first things that came to mind when I saw the prompt was the memory of a student once asking Harisant (yoga teacher) during a yoga class why he was 'punishing' us. She was joking, but at the height of her muscular pain she meant it. Sometimes we have to hold a particular position or repeat certain movements for so long that the unused muscles start to hurt and burn so much that you don't know whether to laugh or cry or both. Harisant shouts out: "Keep up! Keep up! Only seven more minutes!"
Aaaargh! And those who have the strength or desire will 'keep up' until we break that invisible threshold and move past the pain. The reward is the moment of moving past the pain, the rush of energy and the light feeling that comes with the release, getting to lie down on the yoga mats and relax completely at the end and the sense of accomplishment of having not given in or given up.
It reminds me of life in a 'this too shall pass' kind of way. Sometimes situations may hurt and going through them feels hard. But once we 'keep up' and get past the threshold of pain, the reward is there to greet us.
Keep up.
posted by Elspeth at Friday, December 08, 2006
6 Comments:
This REALLY speaks to me tonight, and brings back a wonderful memory of doing a sweat lodge ceremony / rite of purification once. Thank you for reminding me of this truth. K
We should bear and stand and endure, then, in order to get ahead, right? That how I understand the central message of your post.
I do not disagree, but have always wondered, how far? Till when? Where do the frontiers lie? How many other cheeks should I turn -- I only have two, dammit?
Kiki, have alwys wanted to do one of those.
Rethabile, some people would say they have four cheeks.
this reminds me of my step i take tomorrow as i write my last exam. The pain is excruciating right now, tomorrow i will be relieved. thank you.
This is so true! Anything worth getting is worth the difficulty to get. Thanks!
Excellent story ... the commitment and wherewithal to endure the pain to cross to the other side and claim the reward! Brilliant, JP
Post a Comment
<< Home