The other day, I was riding along in the car with my boyfriend, both of us unfamiliar with the area.

He thought about taking a different way than planned, thinking maybe it would be a shortcut. He quickly realized that had he turned left instead of going straight, the way Google Maps instructed us to, it would have taken much more time to get back to the highway.

Lesson learned: there wasn’t a shorter way to get where we needed to be.

As a society, we are obsessed with finding the quickest way to reach our goals.

Whether that goal is to get to work early or to lose a little weight, we want it, and we want it now. Therefore, our time has become precious. We pack our schedules to the max, and we often leave little room for any changes or additions to our days.

We see and hear this every day.

Just turn on the radio on your way to work. You’ll hear advertisements about a weight loss where you can lose 30 pounds in 30 days, “just by taking the pill!” Sounds pretty enticing, right? A simple way to “reach your goal.”

Take a look around your kitchen. Do you have a microwave? Grab a “healthy meal in minutes”just take it out of your freezer and press power. Mmmmmm.

My dad read an article that said you should take a deep breath for five counts, hold it for three counts and release the air for eight counts right before bed. After that, you will be “asleep in one minute.” In my opinion, if I’m told something will come in one minute, I’ll be expecting it, only to be thinking about it for that whole minute. So, 60 long seconds pass, yet I’m still awake.

So with all of these “shortcuts,” what’s the shortcut in yoga?

There is nothing quick about yoga, similar to the examples I mentioned above.

Yoga is a gradual practice that develops into a sustainable lifestyle.

It takes time and a whole lot of patience. There are plenty of tips and tricks to get you to your “destination,” but it is important to remember that not one thing will work for everybody. Everyone’s body’s and mind’s are different; therefore, it is up to you to find what practice works best for yourself.

It could be gentle yoga, prana vinyasa, hot flow, mediation, getting an hour more of sleep each night or eating a healthy breakfast in the morning. Your practice, both physical and mental, is about bettering yourself and those that surround you.

Yoga is remembering to slow down sometimes and to simply experience the present moment.

Let your breath be your guide.

My mom told me this beautiful story about her drive home.

She took a new way, hoping that it would be faster than her usual route—a common practice among most of us.

Instead, it took her on a narrow dirt road somewhat out of the way. But she continued to describe the drive with ease instead of irritation, discussing the beauty of the scenery she experienced—the canopy of trees over the road, the sun shining down, reflecting off of the lake and the adventure of feeling a little bit lost.

She realized that there was no shortcut to get home, but she also realized the beauty of slowing down, appreciating the moment for what it is.

So, perhaps the shortcut to yoga and life is:

There are no shortcuts.

~

Relephant read:

The Shortcut to Enlightenment.

~

Author: Lisa Malinowski

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: flickr