You might hear a yoga instructor tell you to “mind the transition” as you move through the poses of class. This is especially true during tricky or complicated sequences. Transitions are important in yoga and life to keep you safe as a student. Like much of yoga, we practice things on our mat in a yoga studio or in our home so that we can learn lessons and apply that knowledge to other parts of our life.
As much as transitions are a part of any yoga class, they are a part of life. We transition from home to work (even if you work from home). We transition from sitting to standing, from wake to sleep. Before we are born we transition from the womb to the world. On the other side of that coin, the journey from being an adult to a parent has a rather large transition of pregnancy with various stages along the way.
The journey from being single or coupled to married has the beautiful transition of becoming engaged. I often tell couples in not too many words to mind this transition, to take engagement seriously as a means to explore what a life connected to this person may look like. How do you deal with conflict together? How will you celebrate holidays, finances, families? What are your priorities as individuals and as a soon-to-be family?
In much of 2020 and into 2021 I taught yoga online to friends, family, and honestly anyone who wanted to join me. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed teaching online and while it was different than being in person, it still felt nice to move and connect. During much of that same time, I taught yoga outside in an unremarkable parking lot in front of the studio that I worked for. The studio placed interlocking mats to act as a studio floor and barriers around the space for cars. There was a sound system we would wheel out for each class and I checked students in on an iPad. The class sizes were small, informal and much appreciated by the students that did show up. It was less than ideal, but also kind of beautiful in its funkiness and scrappiness of the setup.
There finally came a time where the state opened up indoor access for gyms and yoga studios. I remember as things changed each time and especially as they seemed to head back to normal I kept thinking to myself, “Mind the transition.” It is an adjustment to go from teaching online to in-person and then from teaching outside to back inside. I wanted to honor the experience and give my physical and emotional body the space to process this change. Transitions in yoga and in life can be tricky. Observe and honor the in-between times of life to settle and land with more grace and easier breath.
Questions to ask yourself
What transition is coming up in your life? This could be an anniversary or work, a move, the changing of seasons. If there is a transition in your life how can you honor it? Whatever the shift is, how can you bring awareness to and honor the in-between?
