Wow, those of us here on Long Island had a blizzard of a day yesterday and many of us are still digging our way out. We are not only digging our way out of the heavy snow accumulation, but we are still digging our way out of where the Omicron variant has sent us over this past month — back into our homes, out of restaurants, and out of public places. We’ve become quite proficient at digging out and, in the course of digging out, we often find ourselves digging in as well, even digging deeper, exploring and discovering new things about ourselves. I certainly don’t want to date myself but “dig” was quite a slang word in my teen years. “I dig it” meant I like it a lot, I understand, it’s good, I approve. In this way, dig is a good thing! And, I really do believe digging is a good thing, whether we are digging out from under an accumulation of snow or digging out from the challenges of COVID that have sent us inside or digging deeper to get to know ourselves better.
I remember when my daughter was in Boston for college, the “big dig” was going on, a mega-construction project in the downtown area leaving the whole city in turmoil. Often, that’s what digging does. It creates turmoil until there is change. There are many times in our lives when we are asked to do some digging, meaning to transform. Digging seems to be a great metaphor for transformation because when we dig, whether it’s the earth, the snow, or our own emotions or fears, there is always a change in form, which is a transformation. I’m sure there have been many times in your life when you were asked to dig in or dig out and discover something. When there are challenges that arise in life we often must dig deep to find the strength and excavate the courage and will to deal with the situation. Other times we dig deep within to discover our passions and our talents, and it is often this digging that provides many answers.
We dig on our yoga mats as well. We often talk about deepening our practice. How do we do that? We dig in. We may need to dig in just to find the energy and strength to show up on the mat if we are feeling tired or lethargic. We may need to dig deep to unearth the courage to come to our mat when the idea of coming onto our mat and being alone with our thoughts makes us feel vulnerable. Each time we come to our mat, it takes commitment and dedication to show up exactly as we are. Often times we have to dig deep for that. When we get there, we have to dig in to feel our bodies in alignment, to root into our feet and legs so that our spines grow tall, we need to dig in on a cellular level. We dig into ourselves emotionally, mentally and spiritually and we keep digging. We have a desire to be calm, centered and grounded. If we can’t find it on the surface, we have to dig deeper. We keep going in and in and we keep finding more. We do the work, we keep digging. We take time to sit with what we’ve dug up: we change, we transform, we grow. We dig until only the true self is left. How long does it take?? Maybe 60 minutes, maybe 20 years, maybe a lifetime. There is so much to explore, so much to uncover, so much to reveal. Dig in, dig out, it’s worth it … I dig it!!!
We hope to see you on your mat this week in any of our in-studio or online classes where you can dig in or dig out and deepen your practice in order to transform and grow.
As always, thanks for reading my musings. Namaste, Leslie
