Sometimes in life you get those moments when things just click…

The other day whilst travelling to work on the tube, I noticed a woman sitting across from me carefully reading some papers. She looked familiar but I wasn’t sure where our paths had crossed.  It didn’t take me long – it was one of my yoga teachers from the Life Centre in Notting Hill.

I used to be a regular for the Sunday afternoon class at the Life Centre with Joo Teoh. Much to my sadness, Joo left the class to pursue other opportunities. The Manager at the Life Centre subsequently emailed us to say that a new teacher would take Joo’s place teaching “forrest inspired yoga”. Being open minded we thought we would attend to see what this brand of yoga was all about.

I can only say that it was very different to most normal styles of western yoga. Most yoga styles I have experienced all seem to be a variation of the same theme (aka anusara and their “tippy toe” stuff).  This one however was different. Starting with some deep hamstring stretches, the class appeared to have no particular structure but interesting nonetheless. As for the teacher, she seemed to be a deeply committed yogi: into psychology, meditation and deeply spiritual.

Going back to the tube story then. As we were travelling along, I finally struck up the courage to ask the lady who she was and what she did as a profession. She responded saying that she was a “partner” at a law firm. My illusion was shattered; my holistic, deeply spiritual yoga teacher was out in the open in the real world leading a real life. This was ground breaking! I also explained that I was a lawyer working at a bank. She smiled and remarked: it’s all about “Yin and Yang”….

You see, I think we all deep down crave to do something we truly love and often our “passion” is merely an escape from our daily suffering (a Buddhist would say that pleasure is merely a reduction in our suffering), but if we had the chance, would we really crave and enjoy what we do outside of our daily routine on an eternal basis? I ask myself that question regularly. Perhaps some people do?

Moreover, would eternal holidays really be THAT good? Is there not something special about what we do because of what we have to do to earn that pleasure? I think the energies feed off each other – be too extreme into something and it loses its focus and enjoyment. On the other hand, finding that balance between exertion and relaxation means an all-round beneficial experience, and work may become oh more satisfying too. Finding that “right work” though is the challenge.

So, thank you Mia Forbes-Pirie for leading the way, it really is all about Ying & Yang.

YB

Scott

To learn more about how yoga & meditation can transform your busy personal and professional life, please get in touch with me or email me at Scott@yogibanker.com