What are you even looking for?
HEY Soul Dive,
I was recently inspired by a new friend of mine, a (as one might say) famous scientist named John. John owns 8 biotech companies in San Diego and is Soul Dive’s first corporate client. Shameless plug, if you want to bring the magic of yoga to your workplace hit us up!
I was learning about John’s past, asking how he got started in the industry and what really put him on the map. His answer was clam sperm. Yep, you heard that right! I had so many questions… What was he looking for? What was the agenda behind investigating clam sperm? Were all the other projects taken and he got to pick last? John’s answer was simple: Scientists are always looking for something, there doesn’t have to be an agenda dictating what they are looking for.
I took this back to the yoga mat. How many times have I shown up to practice with more of an agenda than an intention? Likely more than I’d like to admit. I’ve done a lot of exploring in the Big Y Yoga space. A few years ago in the throes of things falling apart, I was hopelessly looking for some reason, or something to blame, for my life not unfolding the way I planned it. I thought there was for sure some past life trauma that needed to get cleared otherwise how else could you explain the wires I deemed crossed in the cosmos? Clearly, the matrix must be broken for me to not have all the things I said would be so by now. How naive. I was told in no uncertain terms: If you go digging for dirt your hands are going to get dirty. Woah. I was digging all right. I was seeking an answer to the past instead of a practice to align with my intentions for the future. In more simple terms, STUCK.
While we love to know and crave clarity of answers, is it really necessary to know what we’re looking for as we navigate the practice of our human experience? My answer is simple: It’s necessary to look, it is essential we keep our eyes open and ears clear so we can learn. But keep the learning free from the agenda. Seek and you shall find the place I landed.
As John would agree, he didn’t show up to work (8 years of work by the way) dissecting clam sperm with an agenda. More of an intent, to find the breakthrough and ultimately learn information that builds on information already discovered - clam sperm or otherwise.
After learning John’s history I took my thoughts back to the yoga room and offered the same invitation to his team of brilliant scientists that I will offer to you: What if you ditched your agenda and showed up to practice yoga with an open mind and loving heart with the intention to explore? When we arrive in our space there’s a sense of freedom to get curious and see what we uncover within the four corners of the mat. It’s a personal investigation to understand how you’ve arrived, what things feel like, and where some extra attention could be focused. Yoga is a deeply personal exploratory practice that is not governed by your agenda - whether you want to admit that or not. The Yoga is going to show you what you need, and my hope is that you are listening and not trying to check something off your list.
After all, yoga is a science, an ancient science that served as the prehistoric lab to explore the physical and spiritual human experience. While we have modernized the practice, the intent to get curious and remain open to loving and learning steadfastly remains. Whether we like the information that comes through or not, it’s the information that moves our needle forward. When we have the intel we can respond accordingly - that’s the practice right there. Arrive, tap in, get curious, listen, and learn. There is no need to dig, the rest will work itself out - it always does.
Sending love from Italy,