Be not afraid of growing slowly

About a month ago, I started going to yoga. 

I think yoga gets a bad rap from people who don't know that much about it.  Bendy girls in sports bras talking about breathing deeply while they contort themselves in silly ways.  Well, yeah, technically that happens.  But that misses the heart of it.  Yoga is about accepting what you can and can't do, it's about pushing yourself, and then letting go of your failures.  If you can't do one of the poses, that's fine.  It's not about being perfect or comparing yourself to others.  It's about doing what you can and building on that.  There are easier versions of every pose that you can start in and work your way forward, or you can use them if you're just having an off day.  It's a practice, which means you have to put energy into it.  It means that you're not going to get everything right immediately.

The theme of Tuesday's class was "Be not afraid of growing slowly.  Be only afraid of standing still."  Our teacher recited this three times during class, each time while we were folded in child's pose, our eyes closed, refocusing our practice at points when our intentions might wander.  It spoke to me on a deep, personal level, and can be applied to just about everything in my life right now.

Like juggling.

Like querying.

Like writing.

I'm always hearing this slowly-but-surely method encouraged in writing...Write a little every day...Never give up...Winners don't quit...Write and write and write and write and then throw it all away...I reblog something about it almost every day on Go Write Right Now in hopes that they will motivate someone, or speak to someone the way a few have spoken to me. 

I wonder if they work.  I'll probably never know.

So, okay.  I'm not where I want to be on my word count.  But you know what?  That's okay.  At least I'm moving forward.  It will get done eventually.  These things just take time.  (LOADS of time.)  The only time I'm letting myself feel guilty about how little I did are the few days when I end up writing nothing.  That's standing still.  Boo!