Enough Is Enough.

When is enough enough? Are we in a never ending cycle always chasing, never exiting the loop that plays on repeat?

This is the thought that ran through my head during a recent yin yoga session.

In yin yoga, a student holds a pose for 3 - 10 minutes based on “skill” level. My class is pretty advanced, so the women typically hold poses for 6 minutes. Some days, we’re all on our A-game. Other days, a few of us get real fidgety.

Friday was one of those days.

Let me remind you that when I say hold a pose for 6 minutes, we’re not standing in warrior 3 or doing an arm balance.

Yin yoga is about rest. We’re holding poses with very little muscular effort to get a deep stretch and really release the tension from our muscles.

What’s fascinating, though, is watching students fidget. It typically happens about 3 minutes in. By that time, the initial tightness is gone leaving a lack of sensation in the stretch.

When students realize there is no sensation they begin to fidget, chasing any sensation that comes. It’s as if laying there, letting the body rest isn’t enough. It’s as if it’s no longer working on their behalf.

This leads me back to my initial question. When is enough enough? Where are you running around chasing sensations rather than being content with what is?

I ask, not because I have the answers, but because I struggle right alongside so many. It’s a battle I constantly fight. 

• When you’re exhausted and just want to close your eyes for 10 minutes, do you push through because there’s no rest for the weary?

• When you aren’t seeing the weight come off, do you chastise yourself for getting seconds and vow to do better tomorrow?

• When you aren’t seeing the income you like, do you kick it into overdrive to impress the boss or begin looking for other jobs?

• When your kids get another zero on an assignment, do you beat yourself up for failing them as a parent and re-commit to giving them all your extra free time (after properly scolding them for not doing the work, of course)?

• When you can’t feel a stretch in your muscles any longer, do you move until the stretch intensifies once again?

Why do we do this? 

I have a few theories, and they all lead back to fear.

Fears about:

• What others will think of us.

• What we will think of ourselves.

• Never seeing success in diet, workout, work, parenting, etc., which then leads back to what does that mean about me? Will people think I’m a failure? Will I think I’m a failure?

Let your body settle. Let you mind rest. Listen to the stirrings of your heart. When you’re seeking that sensation or chasing the next thing, what are you really hoping to find? 

Listen to me when I tell you this - enough is enough. 

That vicious cycle of striving then not feeling enough, then striving again then beating yourself up has to stop. That pressure to do better or be better is paralyzing.

You are doing the best you can, with what you have. No one expects anything more from you.

Instead of pushing for perfection, what if you chose a life full of love, grace, play and rest? One full of meaning.

Your efforts are enough. The things you put into place will have a ripple effect even when you can’t see it. 

The exercise you did today can lead to more energy tomorrow. The work you did today can show your boss that you can be counted on, even when you leave work at work. The effort, however big or small, you’ve made to help your children succeed today can affect how they choose to parent in the future.

By leaving behind the “not enough-ness” and finding contentment in what is, you realize that you are exactly where you need to be at this moment in time.

God has a plan for you and for me. Our job is to listen. Respond when called. Follow our hearts rather than hustle until we have nothing left to give.

One of my favorite books on this topic is Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist. If anything you read above hits home for you, I highly recommend you read (or re-read) it. It’s sooooo good. 

Until next time friends, much love + gratitude.