Speed Bumps

Here in San Luis Obispo, those big huge speed bumps are showing up more and more often on back roads and neighborhood streets. It’s necessary… This town is growing faster than what it was originally built for. Many of the freeway entrances are off of small, residential neighborhood where kids ride their skateboards up and down the sidewalks and college students are cruising through at speeds approaching 50 mph.

These speed bumps are such a pain, though. As I approach them, I brake hard, I freak out, I think about the effect of the impact on my car… and then I roll over them with little effect to me or my vehicle.

I think these speed bumps show up in my practice as well. They loom ahead of me, and as I get closer to one of them, I start to slow down… take an extra breath here or there… mentally prepare myself for the impact to come. My speed bump poses: Badda Konasana, Pasasana, and (of course) Bhekasana. Oh, and then the ankle grab. That’s a big speed bump.

I jump into the pose… It’s never as bad as I fear it will be. I move into it, I breathe through it, and by the time I pass it, I wonder why I dreaded it so much. Sometimes, I even enjoy the “rollercoaster” ride.

The Mind. It’s a powerful thing, ain’t it?