Working with effortless effort
My parents came to Australia with nothing and worked hard to create a better life for us. Having little education and only manual labouring experience, much of their work was physical. They struggled for many years, were often exhausted and yet they never complained or gave up.
Driven by the desire to educate their children, all they wanted was for us to study, get a ‘good job’ and not have to ‘suffer’ as they did. In 2001, I became just the second person in our extended family to graduate from University and a few years later I started working for a top PR agency.
While my chosen career was not physical, it was still hard and those first years as a junior were extremely demanding and stressful. It was as if I had arrived in a new country with very little!!
I complained and cried, and my parents couldn’t understand what the problem was. “You sit at desk all day,” my father would say, having returned from another back-breaking day on the construction site. I tried to explain that mental and creative work could be just as tiring as physical work, but I don’t think he ever agreed or understood.
In his book, Light on Life, BKS Iyengar talks about working with "effortless effort" and creating a sense of lightness. He says, "when effort becomes effortless, asana is at its highest level…” and, “one must create repose in the pose; one must create relaxation even as there is the right amount of tension.”
Do you overwork, overthink and do too much? Are you feeling tense, stressed and can't see any light at the end of the tunnel?
I remember these words whenever I'm in a tricky yoga pose or dealing with something difficult in life or at work – because it's important not to overwork, to find a balance and discern between good and bad effort.
My parents worked their butts off and were so focussed on building their new life, they put themselves last and didn’t take a single holiday for more than a decade. In contrast, when I started working, going on holidays and retreats provided a much-needed break and way to cope with the pressures of work.
I’m not saying that we all just need to go on more holidays or retreats – although it wouldn’t be the worst thing to do! We do have to keep working, practicing and learning in order to progress and become our best selves. But we also need to make sure that what we're doing is helping and not harming us and those around us.
We live in a society that is so focussed on achievements - urging us to do more, push harder and be better. As a result, we work longer hours and never switch off, we over-exert and strain ourselves, get into debt and create hardness and tension in our body, mind and lives.
Iyengar also says, “when an asana is done correctly, the body movements are smooth, and there is lightness in the body and freedom in the mind.” I think this is true of anything in life, not just in yoga – it’s not always what you do but how you do it…
Join me on the mat and start to live and work with more effortless effort!
Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself.
- Maya Angelou
