Grocery Shopping is a lot Like Yoga

Written by: Courtney Boland (Social Media Yogi)

There are three main attributes that one needs in order to not lose it while heading out to do their grocery shopping...or while getting familiar with their yoga practice.
Picture this:  It is a Sunday morning.  I get up, workout and head to the grocery store to get my weekly grocery shopping done. Once that’s finished I can get on with the last day of my weekend and enjoy the Colorado sunshine.  Ready to get it over with, I pull into the Grocery where it takes me a few turns through the rows to find the right spot because all of Denver has the same plans this morning that I do. Once I secure a cart and try to maneuver my way to the veggies it seems as though everybody and their mother are purposely putting themselves in my direct path.  Forty-five minutes later due to the frustratingly enormous amount of people and some minor cart crashes I make my way to the cashier line that is about 8 people deep.
You see where this is going right?  An hour and a half later I make it home not only frazzled but annoyed by how much time it took and how it seems as though every piece of my patience has been sucked out of me all because I was planning ahead for the week and trying to get stuff done.
Yoga, my friends, can be very much like grocery shopping.
We all have those moments where we are thinking, “Could someone please take me out of this present moment and beam me into the future?  I just want it all to be over!”
With yoga you simply have to show up and do the work.  I say simply, but I don’t really mean that it is simple. It’s not easy and yes, it’s totally frustrating at times...but that’s the work. 
What it really takes is consistency, time and patience.  

If you don’t grocery shop each week, you won’t have food to eat...not good, right?
Well, if you don’t regularly get on your mat  then you won’t see any progress in your practice or change in your growth.  Coming to your mat on a consistent basis doesn’t mean going hard core every second of the hour, but rather meeting yourself where you are at that day.  Maybe one day you take a power yoga class and are a complete yogic rock-star and the next you take a restorative class (probably because you overdid it the day before).  Regardless of if you modify your practice or not, the key is in your consistency. Creating any type of routine for your mind and body is the beginning step in creating new patterns for yourself.   

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If only we had more of this…
We take the time to plan out when we will head to the Grocery so it is in our schedule and gets done. So why not schedule in time for YOU and your MAT?  Scheduling your week ahead and putting in your yoga plan can take a lot of pressure off of the “we never have enough time in the day” feeling. The key here is remembering that you are taking the time so TAKE YOUR TIME.  Don’t rush your practice. Listen for cues, focus on your flow, your breath, you, and how your body and mind are feeling. Once you make the time TO TAKE THE TIME you will see your mind start to settle and your practice start to unwind and develop into something maybe you weren’t even expecting.

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This word! Ahhhh how many times have I heard, “You have to be more patient!”  (Well if the cashier would just scan the groceries faster I would be more patient!) 
The truth of the matter is that being patient helps you to feel peaceful and calm.  It helps you to avoid toxic emotions like anger and frustration and improve your relationships with both others and yourself. It enables you to slow your mind and body for mindfulness, growth and even an attitude shift.  It is one of the hardest emotions to cultivate. It seems we are so good at it when things come easily and not so great when we are presented with a challenge or even that “advanced pose” you have been attempting and failing miserably at for the past few weeks. In order to develop patience we need to put in effort.  This will allow for the ease to come with the effort.
With consistency, “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”  Lou Tolstoy
And maybe you find that Sunday morning isn’t the best time to go to the Grocery, maybe it’s the best time to make time for you and your yoga mat.  

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