Last week I arrived back from my spontaneous week-long trip to the USA to visit my parents following my father's release from hospital. What was supposed to be two return flights turned into three and then hours after my arrival, my husband came down with Covid. Sometimes it feels like a lot of obstacles get thrown our way all at once. And the heating in our yoga studio also broke just to add another obstacle to the mix! Whether it's from the outside world or inside ourselves, life's obstacles make it hard to show up for yoga practice as often and in the way we'd like.

Yoga teachers see that in hard times students stay away from class. Money worries, time stress, and health concerns are reasons that people stop coming to class. I see it in myself, when seeds of doubt and fear creep in, they tell me that I don't have time or that I'm not “fit enough” to go to class. Indeed, sometimes getting into bed or doing restorative practice at home is the best remedy. At other times, when I communicate with my teacher about what's going on, like a shoulder injury or getting over a cold, they give me tips on how to practice and be a part of the class. So coming to class lifts my spirits and promotes healing, whatever ails me.

It's when I think that I have to perform in a “way” that the real problems start. Years ago I had a mystery hip pain. I didn't know how it came, it was suddenly there in my left groin anytime I rotated my leg outwards or walked. I tried to ignore it, thinking it might just go away on its own as other pains had done before. But this hip pain persisted and got worse when I ignored it. Eventually, it was so painful that I started to panic until a friend said to me “Why don't you just stop irritating it? Practice without irritating your hip”. It seemed obvious, but until that time, I didn't want to admit that there was a problem. By taking care of it, I was admitting there was a problem. I had to learn the hard way that accepting obstacles isn't the same as letting them overcome me.

Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, lists nine obstacles (antarayas) to yoga practice and writes that trying to avoid these obstacles is wrong because it only reinforces them. Whether it's sickness, laziness, doubt, or instability or any of the other things that get in our way, it's important to see the obstacles and ourselves clearly. In these tough times, our communities and teachers will build our strength and help overcome the challenges before us.