Skip to content
Search:

Yoga Union
Portland Oregon Yoga Studio
Yoga UnionYoga Union
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Links & Acknowledgements
    • Photogallery
    • Testimonials
  • Online Yoga Schedule
    • Online Membership
    • Live Streaming Classes
    • Teachers
    • Yoga Therapeutics with Annie Adamson
  • On-Demand Classes
    • Class Library
    • Purchase Access
    • Sign in to your account
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Links & Acknowledgements
    • Photogallery
    • Testimonials
  • Online Yoga Schedule
    • Online Membership
    • Live Streaming Classes
    • Teachers
    • Yoga Therapeutics with Annie Adamson
  • On-Demand Classes
    • Class Library
    • Purchase Access
    • Sign in to your account
  • Blog
  • Contact

The Yoga Challenge: Balancing Work and Play

Mar202014
BlogPhilosophyWellnessTwo Drops of Oil
You are invited to take on the yoga challenge: twenty yoga classes in thirty days. But beyond these numbers, you are invited to a second challenge.  Yoga practice is more than goal attainment, it is a balancing tool, and you are invited to strike a balance between the work and play of your practice.

Work can feel like a succession of walls—we climb one only to discover the next; earnest effort alone can exhaust us without providing gratification, leaving us with regret for what we missed in overworking. On the play side, we may lose sight of our objectives, feel lost without a sense of purpose and contribution, and be left with regret as well. Yoga practice can help us remember to focus on our work but also lighten up and enjoy life.

A balanced practice happens at the intersection of polarities. The real challenge is to notice when you’ve moved too far in either direction and gently pull yourself back to the point of intersection, the point where work and play harmonize.

If you’re doing the Yoga Challenge this April, chances are you’ll be working harder than usual. To keep your practice in balance, please remember to allow yourself more pleasure and enjoyment along the way. Come early. Stay late. Take it all in. Enjoy your extra time at the studio, in good company, among balanced people who understand the joy of hard work and the purpose of play. Enjoy the extra time with your community. And remember this story –

“Two Drops of Oil” by Paulo Coelho.

A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.

However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.

The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.

The Sage listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.

He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours’ time.

“However, I want to ask you a favor,” he added, handling the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. “While you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”

The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.

“So,” asked the sage, “did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“So, go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. “You can’t trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls.
He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.

“But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” asked the sage.

Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.

“Well, that is the only advice I have to give you,” said the sage of sages.
“The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon.”

from the book “The Alchemist”

 

Share this post
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook TweetShare on Twitter Pin itShare on Pinterest Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp

Author: Todd

https://yogaunioncwc.com

Todd is a certified Anusara Inspired teacher who also holds certifications in Vinyasa yoga and expertise in restorative.

Post navigation

PreviousPrevious post:Chris Calarco on Music for YogaNextNext post:How Thai Massage Relates to Yoga

Related Posts

Holding Space
Why You Aren’t Good At “Holding Space”
September 24, 2019
Fall’s Descent
November 11, 2018
Regulating Negative Emotion Through Mindful Movement
June 13, 2018
Are Generalists Healthier Than Specialists?
April 25, 2018
Movement as Nourishment
April 2, 2018
Teen Yoga, Body Image, Self-worth, with Ivy Katz
March 20, 2018

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment

Search Our Site
Contact Us

[email protected]
503-235-9642 (YOGA)

Join Our Newsletter
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

© 2023 Yoga Union . All Rights Reserved.

Designed & Developed by Gray Ayer