Stuck in a Rut -- YogiSpouse Guest Post

In midwinter in Minneapolis, driving is a challenge.  By January we are all reduced to carefully following in the tire-tracks of the SUVs that went before us, creeping along the snowy roads in channels carved out of ice.

We are all, quite literally, stuck in a rut.

And the more we stick to the path-most-followed, the worse the ruts become.  At this rate, they'll hang around till April.  But although my little car won't be doing any off-roading this winter, won't be the brave vehicle to venture off the beaten path to carve new tracks in the snow, I like to think my spirit is stronger than my Geo.

How can I, in 2011, look beyond conventional approaches to employment, housing, child-rearing, and so on, in order to live the most vibrant life possible?  When is copying the good decisions of others a bad decision for me, my life, my family?  It's time to get unstuck, and think outside the rut.

Mind over Matter?

A while back in yoga class I was having one of those moments--where everything is flowing, completely in the present moment, one-pointed focus.  And then my mind piped up:  "wow, I'm really having a moment, I'm doing such a great job, I'm really developing as a yogi."  And I had to laugh at myself, because the mind will take any opportunity to distract.  But then I was thinking:  what if the mind just doesn't want to be left out?

It's so easy to think that if the mind would just shut up I could have such a great practice, to see the mind as an obstacle.  But trying to transcend something that is always there is really just an exercise in frustration.  Perhaps the mind is just like some toddlers I know, who sees a good thing and wants to be right in the middle of it.

So maybe I'll try inviting the mind to take part, to put its considerable energy towards my yoga practice, and see what happens.