Dear Elevate Akron,
It’s been a minute!
It’s been a minute since we were all gathered at Lock 3 – dodging the sprinkles and laughing at the ultimate sunshine – showering each other with bubbles and cheering for our local studios – supporting each other, our vendors and sponsors, the United Way and Summit County Children’s Services both on and off our mats.
Those memories bring me joy during these challenging times.
I’m safe and healthy here at home but I know that so many folks are out there feeling worried, sick, stressed and broke. And that some may be feeling alone with that.
So, I’m reaching out today with a story. It’s a story that you’ve heard before. And it’s offered here in rough draft form.
You see, these are my notes from last year’s Elevate Akron class. These are the musings that I wrote. They aren’t edited or polished. They might not be exactly as I stated them during class. But I’m sharing them with you.
Back in July, I had hoped that my words would inspire your practice. Today, I hope they inspire your life.
I will leave you to it. But please know that I offer these thoughts from a most sincere heart full of love for you – the Elevate Akron Community.
Many blessings for health, happiness and the highest good for all.
Tracy Rhinehart
It’s time to butterFLY: The world needs all you’ve got!
The cool thing about yoga – maybe the number one reason we get so ‘hooked’ on it – is that it has such an impact on our whole system. The body strengthens and opens. The state of mind shifts. The emotions regulate. The spirit awakens.
And it’s not just that these things simply change. There’s an actual transformation. A metamorphosis. I’ve been practicing for a somewhere over twenty years and I can tell you: I am not at ALL the same person. I am a completely different person physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually than I was when I started yoga.
Like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly. There’s an alchemy to this practice. You can feel it – I think that’s what hooks us.
I once heard Deepak Chopra speak about the changes in our society. (And this was probably 15 years ago.) He likened the changes we are experiencing to the caterpillar-butterfly thing. He said that once the caterpillar is wrapped in the cocoon, the physical form of the caterpillar begins to disintegrate. It actually rots. Deepak said that the rotting portions of the caterpillar become FOOD for the butterfly.
But I’ve become so curious about the process: They say that at the start of this rotting process, the caterpillar’s immune system is alarmed, and it fights the rotting process. It kicks in to protect the caterpillar. But at some point…at some point, the energy of the immune system fighting needs to be redirected. The caterpillar as it has been cannot be saved. The energy of the system needs to redirect itself towards creating the new form-the butterfly.
So there’s a tipping point when the focus of the work is no longer ‘save the caterpillar’. The focus shifts to ‘create the butterfly’.
And this caterpillar to butterfly transformation is true on a macro level – like Deepak was talking about. As well as a micro level – within our individual selves.
I’ve been noticing within myself that I am finding these ‘tipping points’. These small little ways in which I can no longer do things my caterpillar ways. I’m now more interested in and more focused on my butterfly ways. And I mean no disrespect to my caterpillar. Caterpillars are great! My caterpillar was very handy and even necessary. Can’t be a butterfly unless you spend some time in caterpillar!
And I don’t think it’s about the big things: #goals. I really think that being butterfly is about the small things. The way we show kindness and compassion. Friendliness and helpfulness. It’s perhaps simply taking responsibility for being our best selves in every moment. Not just when someone is watching or when we will receive the company incentive.
Butterfly is wonderful – satisfied – content – just by being butterfly.
One of the coolest things about coming out of the cocoon as a butterfly is realizing that you’re not the only butterfly – look around at all of the other folks who are giving the world their whole butterfly heart!
It’s soooo easy to point a finger. To look at the people in power – the parents, the administration, the corporate and political leaders – it’s so easy to point the finger at their behaviors. “That’s so caterpillar!” But I’ve got to say: I have plenty of work to do within my own life.
And as I’ve taken on this idea….as I’ve felt this tipping point and redirected my attention to being butterfly in more and more of the small moments, I’ve noticed this…I have an impact.
I’ll give you an example: One thing that I’m so very done with is rushing/being sooo busy. I’m just at the tipping point with that. It wears me out. It is unorganized energy. It makes me grumpy and irritable.
I can’t be butterfly when I’m rushing.
Does it still happen on occasion? Yup! But it’s tipping. I’m making more and more butterfly choices and decisions. Sure, I’m being responsible with my calendar. Thinning things out, prioritizing, saying ‘no’. But I’m also doing the simple things: walking slower and driving slower – and breathing deeply and staying relaxed. Funny how the clock works out just fine.
Getting all tight in the shoulders and clenched in the jaw didn’t really help me get more done in a day. I’ve decided that rushing is caterpillar. I’m committed to butterfly.
And I arrive relaxed. I’m friendlier and happier. I’m better able to focus on what I’m doing. I can make clearer decisions. I notice when my neighbor is struggling, and I don’t mind helping. I notice the stranger standing along the side of the street – when I’m rushing, he is a nuisance, but when I’m relaxed, my heart is available, and I can offer a smile or stop to share a bottle of water or a couple of bucks. It makes a bigger difference than one might expect. The key is to commit to being the butterfly.
