LIVING ON THE EDGE by Amy Aanonsen

Most of us have an idea of what it means to play the edge in an asana pose.  Finding that place of challenge and sensation in the body without pushing too far.  Finding ease in that space and just being there until that joyous moment when the body seems to just open up into a deeper, fuller expression of the pose.  I recently saw this happen in one of my yoga teacher training sessions and it truly was a moment of bliss for both the student and teacher.  I too felt the joy just by watching!  

When I think about it, so many levels of holdings had to be surpassed to make this moment  possible.   The student needed strength, flexibility, balance, dedication, hope & courage, she needed to trust & have faith in her teacher and, the teacher needed to offer her patience, support, guidance & encouragement.  While in the end she is the one who actually did the pose, the benefits rippled out.   She now has a new place to go to in her practice.  A place that was once so scary can now become a place to grow and explore.

For me this really is the essence of the practice.  While I haven’t mastered any new asanas as of late, I have been open to playing the edges of life more and more.  I’ve been practicing yoga for almost 10 years and, love how the teachings from the mat can be applied to life and vice versa.

There are a lot of poses in life that are challenging and some that are flat-out scary but, if we let our fears stop us from living we will never find what is waiting for us on the other side.  Which would be a shame since  in the case of my fellow teacher trainee it happened to be pure joy & bliss!

Perhaps then  if we approach a life obstacle like we do a difficult asana.  First, seeing & recognizing the challenge, grounding & centering, breathing, practicing with dedication, building strength, being flexible, staying balanced, having courage, relying on others for support & encouragement and not losing hope then the moment will simply come when an opportunity will open up for us and life will become fuller and deeper.  A new place to go to where we can grow and explore.  
In the past few years my life has opened up in many ways and my heart sings in gratitude for these new places of love, growth and exploration!  From growing a new relationship & family to the challenge of taking the 200 hour Teacher Training program at Boundless Yoga to recognizing and seeing the challenges that lie ahead...I have learned that life is much fuller and joyful when you play the edge.