Human Progress is Rarely Linear


More Lessons from the Mat.
Categorization is a dangerous game when applied to human beings, yet our chaotic brains continue to try to sort order out of the shifting experience that is life. Early learning is a good example: when I was about four, time and again, my parents and family friends tried to teach me to tie my shoes. My brain resisted the retention of this knowledge and frustrated me (and the ones who tried to teach me) no end. Then one morning I got up, dressed myself, went downstairs, sat at the foot of the stairs and tied my shoes. I just did it. And knowing how to do it, I probably flaked out a few times and forgot until it was completely settled in my growing little brain.

There were probably more "advanced" things that I already knew when I learned how to tie my shoes. For instance, if I recall correctly, I was already well on my way to being able to read at about that age. But the human mind that insists that one thing comes before another will often skip around the "easy" stuff, finding it difficult, and latch on to the "hard" stuff because it is more intuitive.

I know all of this. And yet, I still struggle with it. I look at Light on Yoga and note the detailed difficulty ratings for various poses and think, "I should be able to do handstand now. I am capable of much more 'difficult' poses." Alas, it does not work like that. My frightened brain conspires to keep me from this inversion, even as I am able to do others with relative ease.

Practicing with my teacher as a friend has been particularly helpful in learning this lesson. I lift up into Paripurna Navasana - a relatively "easy" pose for me - and she comments that she has a really hard time with it. I stop and think about this for a moment. Progress is not linear. Development is messy. But if you worry too much about the route, the journey may never happen at all.
Posted: Friday - March 04, 2005 at 07:58 AM         | |

©