Irritation
Grace Wilson - April 26, 2008
My yoga class is such great fodder for these blogs! Today we did a set of postures, breath and sound that was supposed to have several results: (a) loosen our toes, ankles and knees, (b) stimulate our thyroid & parathyroid glands, and (c) irritate us.
Why irritate us? I wondered but didn’t ask. I’ve learned not to struggle too much with all the questions, hoping I’ll get answers eventually.
The exercises themselves were irritating. We did odd body movements, rarely-used muscles trying to get into the game only to leave us feeling awkward and palsy-ish. There were long bouts of whistling that were rather like nails screeching down a chalkboard. Painful foot/toe opening stretches.
At the end of class, with some relief, our instructor played a huge gong while we all lay in corpse pose. Almost immediately this song started playing from somewhere behind me. I thought it was a cell phone and I threw mental daggers at whoever would bring their cell phone to yoga class. But then it just went on and on and never shut off. The teacher kept playing the gong – she couldn’t hear the music. Turns out the teacher had forgotten to turn off the music she’d been playing during class, and after finishing the CD she’d put in, the next CD in line was more lively. Hmph!
Oh, and just now I had to re-write half of this blog because I did something goofy on my laptop and somehow erased the whole middle of the page. Oy!
So as I write this and intermittently get up from the table and make myself some lunch or wash dishes I’m curious about all this irritation. Where did it come from? Am I supposed to get something from it? What? What do you want??
In the spirit of silver linings and all that, I’ll say this irritation is making me so uncomfortable that it’s directing my attention to the most uncomfortable areas of my life and forcing me to entertain thoughts of change. In fact, I’m coming up with some ideas that I may try. My ideas may not turn out successfully, but any attempt at change would, at least, be movement.
I probably wouldn’t have spent time thinking about this if I hadn’t been so irritated.
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Posted by Grace Wilson at April 26, 2008 09:49 AM
Comments
1. Posted by
Ed
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on
April 26, 2008 11:11 AM
Ha ha! Ed ... sorry, honey bunny!
2. Posted by
Grace Wilson
on
April 26, 2008 03:26 PM
All problems are opportuntities. I love problems. Where as most people run from problems..I invite them.
I used to react to criticism of others. Today I see that what is brought to my attention is my belief about myself and this world. Without criticism, I would not know my belief and what was holding me back from experiencing my true Self.
The more I find my true Self, the less I was criticised, or with other words being criticised became less and less my experience.
Everything brought to our attention, is a blessing, every reaction....an opportunity for awareness and change.
3. Posted by
VivianAmis
on
April 27, 2008 02:48 AM
Hi Grace, it was great to read how you know that irritation (rajas) is what it takes to move entropy (tamas). An ayurvedic doc once gave me a foot massage (with his feet, that is) and massacred me until I was ready to hit him. My greatest surprise was how contented he was when he saw me that angry. Yes, I did make some radical changes in my life after that :)
4. Posted by
Aurora C
on
April 27, 2008 04:11 AM
Grace hello again.. I want to appreciate you for having the courage to blog honestly about your current experience - the strange nitty gritty of a pattern we all go through at times .. the clash of the gong and music, the losing of half a page on your computer.. and the discomfort of irritation that is not completely explainable or resolvable.
Events which seem like "anti-synchronicity", the opposite of the abundant harmonised flow of the universe we have been taught to aim for. Surely the greatest yogis and enlightened beings did not escape such passages in their lives. If the deeper causes of your irritation emerge clearly in due course, it will make a fascinating sequel to the story you have already begun here. ..love AdamG
5. Posted by
Adam G
on
April 27, 2008 03:24 PM
Grace, you sound like going through good part of irritation.
If you are not hurting than you are going through good and happy irritation.
Yoga postures and breathing exercises which do not hurt us are always good for us even if they irritate us.
We should not over exert ourselves while doing yoga and breathing exercise. We should feel comfortable.
6. Posted by
All is One
on
May 6, 2008 12:01 PM
Reading this I kept thinking of all the irritations I encounter each day, most within the walls of my home with my own family!
Could it be, like the formation of a pearl within an oyster, that these raw spots are getting rubbed to make us aware of the gifts hidden deep inside them?
Example: I am irritated at my family for being so messy and never picking things up, irritated as I pick it all up and clean and clean and.. what is the gift? The simple answer is: I am blessed to HAVE a family to get irritated at.. if I were alone, there would be no irritation, yet there would be no family to love or to love me.
I guess that's my pearl.. hope it helps you too!
Debbie
debbiedoesraw.blogspot.com
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Recent Comments
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debbie commented on Irritation
Reading this I kept thinking of all the irritat
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All is One commented on Irritation
Grace, you sound like going through good part o
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Adam G commented on Irritation
Grace hello again.. I want to appreciate you fo
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Aurora C commented on Irritation
Hi Grace, it was great to read how you know tha
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VivianAmis commented on Irritation
All problems are opportuntities. I love problem
So, now I'm irritated, Grace. That gong irritated me.