My favorite asana in the insane plethora of poses that one encounters in the world of yoga is Vriksha-asana, or known more commonly as the Tree pose. I love the feeling of balancing on one leg and then stretching out, up into the sky. The power, balance and poise inherent in this asana has always resonated soundly with me. Probably, it’s also because I found this asana to be particularly easy, a welcome break from the tiring flow of the Vinyasa. Whenever the teacher would ask for any requests at the beginning of a yoga practice, I would always be the first to chirp: “Tree pose please!”.
SuperForest, you may know from reading previous entries, that I work for my family business. Now I don’t want to go into too much detail about it – suffice to say, what I was doing was not fulfilling nor allowing me to channel happiness. I had only been doing it for 9 months, knowing from the start I didn’t want to, but felt obligated by familial responsibility to at least give it a try. For that period of time, I had tried to make it work, tried to convince myself that this was the right choice. I listened to my head and ego, instead of my heart.
There are several occasions in life when you know that the decision you’re about to make WILL change the rest of your life. I always think that every decision somehow causes a ripple effect and affects your environment in ways you can’t even fathom, but it’s not so common when you’re faced with a decision that you KNOW will change everything.
Two days ago, I flew back from Vancouver to Hong Kong. I had spent a month there, on an extended business trip. Little did I know that in a month’s time, I would fly back a different person. The time I spent there was transformative. I began to practice yoga daily. I rediscovered the joy of simply walking through a forest. A real green one, not the concrete one I was so used to. I let go of past distractions – things that I used to take my mind away from the life I was leading, one where I was not the captain, instead, just along for the ride. Sitting in the plane at 34,000 feet, I poured everything out onto pieces of paper, allowing my pen to be the extension through which all could be released. I did this to not only better organize what I wanted to say, but also as a sort of rehearsal in my mind. I had always been afraid of talking frankly with my Dad. Imagine tough as nails, cunning and cool businessman. Now multiply that by 10. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous.
Picking him up at the train station, I saw a hint of a smile flit across his face as he got on the car. We had not seen each other in a month. After lunch, we went hiking. In between the buzz of insects and the seemingly suffocating humidity, Dad listened calmly as I explained my decision to leave the company. As we walked, I talked more and more, letting it just flow. He listened silently. When we reached the top and turned around to trudge back down, he began to speak, explaining his thoughts on what I said, and though we still differ in opinion, he gave me his blessing.
I want to live exactly like my favorite asana, firmly planted to the Earth in balance and power, cheekily on one leg and arms outstretched in grateful exultation to all. Now is the time to explore, to look inside and out and see where it takes me. The opportunity to live and love as my heart desires is upon me. Luckily, I have more support from all of you then I had ever imagined. SuperForest is a pillar of strength. Reading about all your incredible lives and adventures gives me the courage to forge my own and to stand tall and strong. Heather’s post gave me even more strength when I needed it most. So thank you for reading and know that each one of you that reads, comments or simply reflects are all a part of this incredible community of superheroes. I may be but a single Tree, but together, we make up an incredible, incredible SuperForest.
Thank You.
Jackie
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