Patient

 

Daily Reflection

I woke before the day arrived.

Not because I was chasing something —

but because my body was ready to speak.

By the time I reached the mat, impatience was already there.

The urge to rush.

To arrive at the posture before earning it.

But the body doesn’t respond to force.

It responds to honesty.

So I stayed lower.

Returned again and again to the foundation.

Each repetition asking the same question:

Can you meet yourself exactly where you are?

Strength came quietly.

Breath spread into places I didn’t know were listening.

And with the breath, memories surfaced — not as interruptions, but as visitors.

Old rooms.

Old choices.

Old versions of myself asking to be acknowledged, not judged.

I didn’t push them away.

I didn’t follow them either.

I kept moving.

That’s when I realized:

This practice is patience disguised as effort.

Growth isn’t about reaching the shape —

it’s about staying present long enough for the shape to appear on its own.

Afterward, I sat in stillness.

Not long.

Just long enough to hear what remains when movement stops.

The mind tried to negotiate.

The body reminded me: control doesn’t come from the outside.

It comes from listening.

Throughout the day, I noticed how small choices teach big lessons.

What I consume.

When I rest.

How I respond instead of react.

Every signal the body gives is information —

if I’m disciplined enough to receive it.

What I’m learning now is simple, but not easy:

Life isn’t asking me to prove anything.

It’s asking me to participate fully.

To take responsibility without punishment.

To grow without resentment.

To stay curious instead of defensive.

I don’t need to rush ahead of myself.

I don’t need permission to be present.

If I keep regulating the body, the mind will follow.

And if I keep listening, the next step will reveal itself —

without force.

Today, I choose patience.

I choose attention.

I choose to meet life exactly where it is,

and allow it to teach me as I move through it.

— Yoruba Yogi