Flow

“Vitality is a sensation, and it requires a sensitivity to signals and surroundings –
and the courage to flow and shout and stomp your feet in sync with the signals of life.”
-Danielle LaPorte

A few weeks ago, as I was teaching vinyasa to my yoga students, I stopped to think about how I spend the majority of my time ensuring that things flow. In my day job as a director of marketing, I oversee the production of myriad projects. In order for them to “flow” properly, I have to map out schedules, budgets, tasks, and deadlines. As a yoga teacher, the ways things flow in my classes is often much less structured. Sure, I may have a sequence scribbled down next to my mat or a Yoga Journal magazine open to its asana column, but I allow the energy of my students to steer the direction and outcome of their own flow. (I have since learned that this is also a pretty good strategy for the people I manage in my day job.) Ironically, establishing a flow for people and projects requires a type-A personality. (Who knew?) Yoga has taught me to embrace my inner dichotomy between structure and flow. I never knew both could exist in harmony… but by practicing doing it for others, I am now learning how to structure my life to flow too.