Beyond increased flexibility and heightened body awareness – and on top of the joy that is seeing where and how Benji will spend the entirety of the yoga practice napping – perhaps my favourite part of Yoga with Adriene videos is the chance to hear my favourite mantra. If this is much too much…
When Adriene describes a yoga pose she knows could be challenging for different abilities or skill levels or body types she says: If this is much too much*…before offering alternative poses or modifications.
(*For example, that pose in the header picture? It would be MUCH TOO MUCH for me!)
It sounds so forgiving and gentle. It sounds like something I would have said to my kids when they were toddlers. It’s not me, it’s the pose. It’s much to much. Also, something about that extra “much” speaks to my soul. It paves the way for extra care and gentleness. I can do a child’s pose or come out of plank to rest on my knees because, well, this DOES feel like much too much.
After hearing this mantra for months in her videos, I see it surfacing in my self-talk.
Okay, Elisabeth, time to take a break. This __________ (insert emotion, pace of life, challenge) is much too much.
Your turn. Favourite mantra lately? Favourite YouTube yoga videos? How do you respond when you realize something is feeling like much too much? Do you tend to speed up/push through or slow down/show yourself grace?
Header photo by Oksana Taran on Unsplash
J
Wow, that pose IS much too much! I’m glad that you are giving yourself that grace. Wise words. Another helpful Adrienne saying that I think of sometimes is “Let go of that which no longer serves you.”
I’m working my way through all of the seasons of 30 day sequences this year, and I’m currently on season 6, and this is the first season where Benji is in every video. He was in a couple last season, and before that not really. Too young I guess, too much puppy energy!
Elisabeth
I am so proud of you for doing all those series. I did 2 and made it halfway through a 3rd but then burned out of doing it daily. I really liked when it was released one at a time. That kept me coming back for more because I knew I could never “get ahead.” I’ve fallen out of practice this summer, but I love knowing how to ramp back up into her video series.
Benji is just the sweetest!
Grateful Kae
I have done several of her videos since you started them in January and I really love the vibe too! And that’s a great saying. She is so calm and even keeled (I mean, at least in the videos… I suppose if she’s having any stress or anxiety she has to reel it in for the yoga video 😆) and I also love how her dog just chills there. I think that’s such a great mantra! So accepting and kind of just matter of fact about the situation. And I couldn’t do that first pose if my life depended on it I don’t think right now! I used to be pretty flexible as a young child- did gymnastics for a bit though was never particularly good… but now I feel like I’m less and less flexible. I think my strength training may be at odds with flexibility a bit, so I really need to make a point to focus on that! I’ll do that right after I do my cardio workouts. 😅
Elisabeth
She is SO calm in the videos and Benji really sets the stage for things 🙂
I am so inflexible, but yoga has made a definite improvement! That was exciting – to be able to see real results from doing the videos.
sarah
My favorite mantra is the tag line from Happier in Hollywood– it’s a fun job, and I enjoy it. Also, no matter how much yoga I do, my body will never fold itself like the image in your photo– but in my head that is EXACTLY what I look like on the mat.
Elisabeth
So good! My favourite mantra from Liz Craft is Don’t treat a gift like a burden which I know she’s said on Happier with Gretchen Rubin (and which is a lot like their “it’s a fun job and I enjoy it.”).
I know I look ridiculous on the mat…but I AM more flexible than I was this time last year, so that’s a plus.
Nicole MacPherson
I have two favourite mantras: one from Hamilton, and one from the song Unwritten. The first is “look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now” which I think whenever I feel like I need to be regrounded in the current moment. The second is “live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.” I think that when I don’t “feel” like doing something out of my comfort zone, it reminds me to zip zap zoop a little.
I’m so happy you’re doing yoga!
Elisabeth
Zip, zap, zoop. I can just see you flitting about with your boundless energy and zest for life. You’re like a pixie fairy that sprinkles magic dust wherever she goes. *Happy sigh*
I’ve been saying Choose the bigger life, lately, and it’s the only reason I got in the water swimming so much. It might sound silly, but for me that is 100% choosing the bigger life (getting wet and borderline cold!)…and it really helped me make up my mind about yes/no to hopping in.
Colleen Martin
Oooh I like your mantra! I find myself repeating “Just do the next right thing” whenever I’m overwhelmed. It helps me stop wasting time worrying about ten steps out and just keep moving!
Elisabeth
I do this too, Colleen! Or sometimes I’ll even drop the right and say: “Just do the next thing.” It can feel so overwhelming sometimes to face the enormity of a day or a set of chores…but just doing SOMETHING almost always makes me feel better. At the very least, I’ll likely cross something off one of my to-do lists.
Michelle G.
That is a lovely mantra, Elisabeth! Yoga with Adriene sounds nice. I’ll have to take a look. I’ve lost a lot of flexibility, so an easy beginner’s video might help.
Elisabeth
She has a great range of videos. Things to suit all tastes, abilities, and interests!
ccr in MA
It stuns me that anyone can make their body do that position! In a few weeks, I’ll be watching Olympic gymnastics and marveling at what they can do.
Similar to Colleen, when I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, I’ll tell myself “just do one thing.” Doesn’t matter what it is, just do one. Then do another one. It helps me break up my thoughts when they start circling.
Elisabeth
The Olympics (in general, though gymnastics/diving in particular) just AMAZE me. It’s superhuman stuff!!
Yes! I saw Colleen’s mantra and said in my comment that sometimes I drop the “right” thing and just do “a” thing. Doing one thing helps get the proverbial ball rolling! Today it was weeding a back flagstone pad. I had 30 minutes of down time and my head was buzzing and I just did the weeding and it helped calm me down (I put in headphones and listened to music), gave me some exercise (lots of squatting), and a pesky job is done!
Jenny
Ha, that pose… that is definitely “much too much.” I agree that’s a nice mantra- that extra “much” seems very soothing. I like all the mantras everyone has mentioned so far! I guess right now I keep thinking of my phrase of the year- “Every Day Counts.” I especially call on it when things aren’t going exactly the way I would like, and I have to remind myself not to wish the days away. This day counts too!
Elisabeth
Every day counts. I love it, Jenny.
And I think it reminds me of the Anne of Green Gables line about: tomorrow has no mistakes in it. Every day counts AND every day is a chance to start over in a way.
I OFTEN wish days away, so I need to spend more time ruminating on your mantra. It’s a great one.
Lisa’s Yarns
Oh wow that pose IS much too much. Back bends/heart openers were often much too much. And crow pose? Forget about it! I remember explaining crow pose to my now retired colleague and how I could not do it. He got down the floor and did the dang post in khakis and a button down! He had a ton of upper body strength though and wasn’t covered in sweat which makes it extra challenging. We had a good laugh over how easy that pose was for him but I was way more flexible/bendy. We all have our strengths.
I think about the verse ‘for I know the plans I have for you…’ I have a complicated relationship with religion and my Catholic upbringing but I love her verse. Especially the end of the verse about your hope and future. Things in life can feel impossibly insurmountable and yet I do believe I can and will get through anything.
Elisabeth
Yeah, I definitely can’t do crow! I am NOT that flexible and I have very little upper body strength. All the planking in yoga is the worst. Blergh.
Someone actually read that exact verse to me yesterday (it’s in Jeremiah)! It’s very comforting <3
Daria
Mine… All is well. This too shall pass. [blank] will not matter in a month/three months/next year/etc and a true classic “Shit happens.”
I do not have an ounce of motivation to do yoga on YouTube. I have tried, many times, and, I just will not do it. But when I’m paid $$ then you’d better believe I’ll be there. That is the only way.
Elisabeth
Paying for something is HIGHLY motivating to me as well. I’m hoping to get a monthly pass to a yoga studio this fall!
Suzanne
This is the third time I have come here to comment on this post, but I keep being stumped on my own personal mantra. Maybe I don’t have one??? I love Adrienne — she has such a soothing, accepting vibe. I love that you’ve adopted this phrase to help give yourself grace and set reasonable boundaries in your life.
When I think of personal mantras, I can come up with plenty of OTHER PEOPLE’S — I adore Nicole/Allison’s “there will be a time after this,” and Jenny’s “Every day counts.” My dad always used to say “you can hold your breath that long” to help encourage me through tough situations, and my mom has always espoused “to thine own self be true.” Lindsey Bomgren is a fitness “guru” I love, and she has a ton of little helpful mantras: “Do your best, forget the rest” is one I really like, because it reminds me that I don’t need to be perfect.
But I guess I haven’t found that single motivating thought I can reach for. This feels like a personal failing, lol.
Something I do find myself saying over and over as the years pass — but it’s not really a mantra, per se — is “O world! I cannot hold thee close enough!” It’s a line from a Millay poem that speaks to the astonishing beauty of the world and sometimes I feel so in love with nature that this line comes to mind.
Elisabeth
There will be a time after this is sooo good and I keep returning to that one as well!
My heart burst with that nature line.
And, honestly, I think having all sorts of go-to mantras for different situations and seasons of life is ideal. One size usually doesn’t fit all, and you’ve got a great range.
One I think of a lot is The only way through is through.
Sometimes a mantra or quote will change my whole day, and other times it’s barely a blip on my radar in terms of changing a negative trajectory…but I still LOVE them! One we say to the kids a lot is “You can do hard things.”
Jacquie
I remember the first aerobics class I went to, 40 years ago this past May, and the instructor said “Don’t think about where you want to be by the end of the class, think where do you want to be in six months.” It was the best thing I could have heard that day, and I have remembered it whenever I start something new – a job, a different exercise routine, a hobby and even house renovations/spring cleaning! It’s often overwhelming to start something new and there’s a feeling of pressure to be perfect or have everything in place immediately. That comment has calmed and centered me through many of my life challenges.
Elisabeth
What sage advice! Love this and appreciate how broadly applicable it is, too. Those early stages of anything – a new exercise routine, job, etc – can be so fraught, but thinking further down the line both relieves some of the immediate pressure and encourages us to think about and reach for goals. This is awesome, Jacquie. Thanks for chiming in <3
NGS
Not to be a Nike ad, but I say “Just Do It” to myself at least a dozen times a day. Do I really want to take the dog an extra block around? Just do it. Do I want to clean the mess? Just do it. Do I want to exercise? Just do it. It’s really effective for me as a natural procrastinator.
I am, however, also a firm believer in listening to my body. If I start doing something and it feels wrong (exercise, yardwork, whatever) I will stop, no matter how many Nike ads I watched in my adolescence. These things might seem contrary, but I swear that they aren’t!
Elisabeth
Hey, it’s a classic slogan for a reason! I often tell myself to just do the next thing and almost always find I pick up momentum. Like you, though, there are also times where I just…stop. It’s all about finding that balance, isn’t it!
Some days I don’t want to clean the kitchen before I go to bed, but I do it and it feels great. Other nights, I don’t want to clean the kitchen and I don’t…and that can also feel great!
Kate
That is such a gentle and comforting phrase! I keep hearing people rave about this yoga series and have never explored it for myself. I will have to check her out. Back in college I used to do this workout DVD called Yoga Booty Ballet (the name *still* makes me laugh) and it was quite a workout, probably more of a mix of Pilates and barre than what I envision as “normal” yoga.
A few mantras: “Don’t think, just go” (from the Another Mother Runner podcast — the context is exercise, but applicable to many things we know we should do but keep lollygagging). “I feel X, I know Y, I choose Z” (from my mom’s therapist). “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!” (from Mr. Rogers, of course). “Jesus, I trust in you” (the simple and beautiful prayer).
And then some gems from my favourite parenting guru, Dr. Becky: “You’re a good kid who is having a hard time.” “This feels hard because it is hard, not because there is anything wrong with us.” “I am safe and I am loved.” “Two things are true; [parent’s job to set boundaries and keep child safe], and [child is allowed to experience their feelings].” I just love her!!
Elisabeth
Yoga Booty Ballet. That is hilarious!
I feel X, I know Y, I choose Z. Wow. That is so, so powerful and genius. I love this and want to ponder working this in to a regular rotation in my head. Thanks for sharing this one! And what a simple, perfect prayer. A book I read years ago included: God’s got this, and I think that regularly (it can be hard to believe it sometimes, but breathing that out as a prayer over and over helps!).
Dr. Becky has some of the BEST lines. I have used that This feels hard because it is hard for a few years now and it is such a helpful saying.
Anne
I didn’t skip this one because I knew – just knew – that I would gain insights from not only the post but the comments. And I did! I was also reminded that I have adopted many of these – or variations of them – for myself. “Just do it”? My mom’s favorite, and one I still repeat. “The only way through is through”? So true, and so frequently uttered here, silently or out loud. But some of the new ones – including much too much – may also make their way into my lexicon. So thank you! <3