Practice

Lately I have been trying to go to yoga classes to help relax and stretch my body. The yoga teacher said something while we we holding a downward dog position (isn't that the most awkward name for a pose?) that kind of stuck in my mind and resonated with me. I hope you find it as insightful as I did. She said that 

"This practice is not for mastery. This practice is for practice. Mastery comes later." 

At first this didn't sound quite right to me because growing up I always heard people saying:

"Practice Makes Perfect" and "Perfect practice for a perfect performance!"

But demanding perfectness from everything is impossible and exhausting! The next night at ballet classes I approached the combinations with the idea that my yoga teacher talked about. I wasn't as hard on myself when I messed up and I wasn't worried about every single step. I found that I was able to relax a lot more and really dance! Not to say that we should all go to class and not try at all, but that we appreciate practice for being what it really is... just practice.

practice:

1.

  a. carry out, apply

  b. to do or perform often, customarily, or habitually

2.

  a. to be professionally engaged in

  b. to train by repeated exercises

 So , I guess what I am trying to say is that we should all be a little easier on ourselves in class. Every practice does not need to be perfect and mastery (or as close as you can get to mastering ballet) comes slowly over time. I know that a lot of y'all figured this out a long time ago, but it really helped me feel good about myself and all of the progress I have made in ballet. 

Lillian