Yoga and the Art of the Marathon

Change is in the air.

A scene from the NYC Marathon, Nov 3, 2024. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Despite what Alexander Hamilton might have said, you don't have always have to write like you're running out of time.

……………….

Perhaps you’re like me and have been finding the need to retreat lately. Get quiet. Slow down. Take mental health days. In order to be able to “Do Something” – as a famous person recently implored – I’ve found the need to do nothing. Or rather, do different things than I had been doing. Especially as I’ve minimized my news intake, slowly I’ve found clarity of mind returning.

I’ve always believed that yoga practice is more like a marathon, rather than a sprint. It takes a long time to get really good at it, especially at the subtler aspects of it and the deeper practices.

I don’t know when I wrote these words but many years ago, I added the following entry into my “Pearls of Wisdom” document: 

Yoga Practice is like investing in mutual funds for your retirement. You have to think long term. Know when to be conservative and when it’s safe to take risks. Take the turtle approach - go slow, yet steadily towards your desired outcome.

I’ve always believed in just showing up, doing what I can do … daily, weekly, monthly … and seeing what it all adds up to many years down the road. Now that I’m in my “re-wirement” years, I have a better sense of what some of my “investments” – I’m not speaking in monetary terms – have led me to realizing. 

The turtle approach is not an especially popular one in our success-oriented, need-it-by-yesterday American collective psyche. But I do believe it is one that can produce the longest-lasting results when all is said and done. Many years ago, when I studied Ta’i Chi, my teacher passed on this wisdom:

Slow, imperceptible changes last.  Quick, dramatic changes do not.
- Ta’i Chi principle 

The quiet, soft approach may go unnoticed but I do believe that over time, it can yield powerful results. In my own life, I’ve gotten better at a few things simply by perfecting my skills over a long period of time.

Another powerful Ta’i Chi principle our teacher taught us was:

Never force.

I remember my Ta’i Chi teacher describing the practice something like wrapping a steel sword in soft cotton. Taking this approach may lead to appearances being deceiving, whereby those who appear weak may actually be quite strong, and vice-verse. 

I think it’s so important to remember to never force – especially as we practice yoga asanas. When I first began seriously practicing yoga in the ‘90s, I did Ashtanga (a.k.a. Power) Yoga, which is quick and dynamic. As time went on, I shifted to doing more ViniYoga, Restorative Yoga, and Yin Yoga, which is slower and gentler. This approach has allowed me to continue practicing yoga asanas and still receive the benefits.

As we all do our individual parts in charting our country’s next reinvention of itself, I’ve felt the desire to step-back, with the hopes that insight will arise and guide me to doing my own small part in helping steer us towards Good. I don’t know what lies ahead on my path – and our collective path – but I am encouraged to follow the sage advice from some true Masters:

 If you want to change the world, first try to improve and bring about change within yourself. That will help change your family. From there it just gets bigger and bigger. Everything we do has some effect, some impact.
- H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step....
- Lao Tzu 

So right now, I’m trying to help the collective consciousness by first going small and doing what I can to slowly change myself and my own physical, mental, and emotional states of being.

I am also taking to heart the words of Fred Hargadon – a.k.a “Dean Fred” – who was the Dean of Admissions at Stanford University back in the 70’s and who admitted me there. He said:

“Take the LONG view.” … “Let your whole life be serendipitous, a series of seemingly accidental, yet happy and beneficial events.” … “Don’t have your life so well planned out that you don’t leave room for good things to happen by accident.” 

I really do believe, by treating this period of time like a marathon, that slowly, but surely, many happy accidents and beneficial events – some that I cannot even dream of at this moment – are in store for BOTH me and Us. 

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you do nothing in order to be able to Do Something, ...
May you take the long view, …
May happy, accidental and beneficial events lie in your future, … both for your benefit and for the benefit of All Beings Everywhere.

Aloha and Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

I love the quirky art that is in abundance around NYC. Always brightens my day.

I don't know how we'll get there, but this song has been a balm for my spirits and fears recently, and reminds me that, somehow, someday WE WILL get there.

Youtube Description: "Woyaya" is the title song of a 1971 album by the legendary Ghanaian band "Osibisa". The song was frequently heard in work camps throughout central West Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. “Woyaya,” like many other African scat syllables, can have many meanings. According to the song’s composer, it means “We are going.”