Weaknesses, what to do with them?

Thoughts from yoga on Saturday 19Feb2011… when do we work on our weaknesses?

I’m thinking of today’s practice where I was progressing to reach a difficult posture, the twisted half-moon pose, Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana. However, it could have been any difficult posture now that I think about it. This one in particular was hard for me because it consisted of both a binding/twisting element and a significant element of balance. I have always felt that balancing (in the physical sense) is one of my strengths, but still enough of a challenge to require me to dedicate a lot of focus and feel the burn in my body. To add another element that is very difficult (for me) like a bind/torso twist, creates for a tough few minutes. The odd day I reach one of these postures successfully (in my mind, which is sometimes just without falling) I find myself really relying on the component of the posture that is my strength. It is as if I use that strength to work on the other components that are difficult. Sometimes I may be hanging there by a thread, i.e. barely keeping it all together. This may not be the time to work on (the weaker component) twisting my torso even more than it already is. Perhaps my teacher approaches me, however, and braces me while he or she guides my torso into more of a twist. The support is there, and I feel like I’m safe to twist further while maintaining my strong balance because I know that I have the support. It may be that if they let go, I can hold for 2 more seconds, but it also may be that I topple over immediately. My point is that when we are already overwhelmed and overloaded with a lot going on in our lives, much of which may even be considered things we do well, but overloaded nonetheless, it may not be the time to work on our weaknesses. Or, it may require the strong support of friends and family to brace us, hold us to create a safe space for us to reach a bit without immediately toppling over.

There is a school of thought that suggests focusing on your strengths and making them stronger rather than trying to become better well rounded (i.e. making your weaknesses into strengths). I have to agree with this for the most part. If I stay with the yoga metaphors, I know that I can improve my ability to twist my torso and contortion my body into some of the binds and postures that require a great deal of flexibility. However, I will never be able to call these my strengths. Cue gasp. I know. I just said “never” and in a physical/exercise sense. But really, I have a great deal of muscle mass, especially in my legs that prevent me from doing some of these things to the extent that others may be able to do. Also, keep in mind that I’m in cases

with 60 Chinese women (and a few men). No one forgets the famous “Chinese Acrobats” that toured the world. I digress. While sometimes it is a pain to have such muscular legs, for example when buying pants and jeans, I am happy to have such a strong body. If this is the potential that Mother Nature gave me, I will make sure I recognize it and focus on my physical strength as my strength. My strong legs allow me other “strengths” as well, such as in the aforementioned example, balance. And maybe, this strength allows me to work on those weaknesses a bit, not to perfect them per se but merely to make the posture work as best as I can.

Can I apply this to my life, to my “whole self weaknesses” so to speak? Mind you, I do not aim to abolish this list of weaknesses. As odd as it may be to say, they are a part of me, part of who I am, part of what makes me funny and special. The key for me may be remembering my strengths, more than ever, like my strong legs for example… I cannot forget my strong legs, as they are the biggest muscles on my body, they make up over half of my height and weight, and they take me places, literally. So why not let my strong legs help me with the other things? Then, if I am finding myself in a position where I am overwhelmed, a really tough combination of strengths and weaknesses, such that even my strong legs can’t even get me through, can I rely on my friends, family, and colleagues to support me while I refine the weakness to achieve the metaphorical yoga posture? If that support system is not available, I must rely on my strengths to “get me though” even if it means that the outcome won’t be perfect, at least my strengths will always radiate from me.

I think I need to put together a succinct list of my strengths just as I’ve done here with my weaknesses. These lists can go side-by-side, as they should!