Staying inside the lines

MINDFUL MOMENTS # 124

When did you get told you had to draw inside the lines?

I remember every Easter and Christmas at primary school, we had a colouring competition. It was basically a competition to see who could colour in most neatly and most precisely within the lines. Like a game of Operation, any small error elicited an unpleasant buzzing sound. We learnt to be precise; to draw neatly and to cut smooth corners around the edges of the paper Christmas tree.

We have to do this when we’re learning, don’t we? We have to learn by first principles so that as we become more experienced, we know where we can adapt.

I’m currently away on a chamber music course and it’s the same with learning an instrument. You have to work from the basics: you learn first position and open strings and how to hold your bow. Over the years, you learn that you don’t need to stick to that; you learn that colour and sound can be changed my small shifts in the bow, or speed of vibrato. I remember the first time my teacher changed the way I held my cello; until that point, I thought there was only one way to sit and had never questioned it as a possible variable.

We have to start in first position; we have to learn the basics, but we don’t have to stay there. When did you learn your own style of handwriting that was distinct from the joined-up cursive letters in fountain pen you first practised?

I went to an improv session a few days ago: picture 20 classical musicians in a room being encouraged to play out of time and harmony with each other. We were like 20 rabbits in headlights; 20 kittens sitting nervously at the edges of our cat carriers, frightened to venture out. But there is a world outside the box.

We have more freedom than we think we do, or rather, we have only as much freedom as we believe we do.

We want harmony. For the most part, we want to fit in. To be different, we have to feel safe.

When you get dressed, are you truly exercising your freedom to wear whatever you want? When you talk with others, are you prepared to be open-minded and consider different ideas and, in doing so, expand the edges of your box? Are you aware of all the things you’re doing simply because you’ve always done them? Did you know you don’t have to adopt your parents’ views? How much free choice do you have? And how much free choice do you use?

Mindful moment: We can find new ideas through improvisation. We can take the safety of a familiar musical chord and play around within it. Keep trying new things so that you can keep learning. Begin to notice whether the choices you make during the day (what you eat for breakfast; how you view exercise; when you eat dinner) are choices you would continue to make now, or whether you are simply doing them because you’ve always done them. We have far more freedom than we realise, and we might just find that when we examine our day-to-day decisions, there is much more scope for us to live in alignment with our own values, rather than in the hangover of someone else’s.

YOGA

Mindful Movement with Laura

Join us every Saturday from 11am-12.15 at the Cornerstone Community Centre in Hove for an all-levels vinyasa yoga flow class, meditation and mindfulness (mats provided or bring your own). 

£6 per class or £24 for 5.

Upcoming classes: Classes will resume September 23rd

“Do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?”

Rumi

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Welcome to the Community.

I'm Laura, a yoga teacher and NHS doctor. With this weekly newsletter I aim to help you incorporate mindful moments into your week. I want you to feel inspired, empowered and creative. I promise to always be authentic; to only include content that speaks to me and which, therefore, I hope will do the same for you.

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Thank you for reading! Until next time, Laura x