Here’s the thing about support: Sometimes you know when you need it, and sometimes you really don’t. But there’s a distinct pleasure that comes when support shows up when you least expect it to.
And, if you’re like me, you can’t help but smile about it.
Here’s one recent example that has stayed with me.
During my yoga class I was trying (not so elegantly) to lunge my body into a stability balancing pose, called half moon, my hand unconsciously landed on my block. (You see I surround myself with blocks and blankets in my yoga practice, but often fail to actually use them -- most of the time.) And this time, something clicked.
My hand met the block like a friend’s strong embrace. The kind that tells you, “You’re here. I got you.”
I knew that even with the length of my arm reaching for the floor, I wasn’t going to make contact with it that evening. There was going to be a gap between me and what I was reaching for.
But this block, this magical block, was going to get me there. It would hold me so I could do more with my body. I could lean on it, and stretch even further into the sky. I could relax. Even now I remember the glorious slow exhale that evening. I landed.
That pose wound up feeling delicious. And I somehow felt freer with the support. I didn’t even know that I needed all of that. But I did.
It was a small brief moment, but it made me recognize how good it can feel to receive that support, to feel lifted, especially when we don’t realize we need it.
That takes surrendering and opening ourselves up to the possibility just a little.
Just a little.
