More effort equals better results?

Do you collapse in a heap at the end of the day? 
 
Do any of these sound right: 
 
1) If our yoga feels hard, then we must be getting more benefit.  
2) If it feels easy, then it can't be 'doing' anything. 
3) If we invest more in something, it has to pay us back with what we want. More effort = better results. 
 
Let's think again. 
 
There is a false belief that if we do something that is hard, or do more of it, it will give us better results.
 
Of course this can't be true. 
 
If eat chocolate, it might feel good at first. If I keep on eating lots and lots of chocolate, my mood won't continue to feel better and better and better. I will get to a point where my body will grumble and I'll feel horrible. 
 
The amount of time and effort we put into something needs to be just right, and the way to tell is often subtle.
 
We are used to listening to our heads, not our bodies or more subtle sensations or energetic cues. Our willpower often determines our level of effort. We override everything else. We do the hard stuff, enjoy the buzz, and carry on. Even though we may be increasing our stress levels, not noticing that we have become accustomed to struggling through our days and collapsing in a heap at the end. 
 
Yoga practice can become that quieter place where things become easier to listen to. We learn to attend to the subtle cues in the body, in the breath and in how grounded we feel. We start to notice that we are rushing, or pushing into a pose, or struggling to breathe well instead of inviting a full unfolding of ease and stability in each pose, and in each breath. 
 
Of course, at first this may feel elusive or even impossible but once established in your practice, sensitivity increases. 
 
Yoga helps us move and breathe better, to become more aware of ourselves, our habits, our blind spots and helps us work with ourselves in a much more skillful way. We learn to listen with openness, care and attention. And listening in this way is definitely a skill worth cultivating.
 
Ultimately it can help unfold a new dimension of relationship to ourselves, and to those around us.
 
And help us avoid the need to collapse in a heap at the end of each day.
 
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