Even if you are a new student to PYB you likely have heard a teacher using the expression ‘Disrupt the Drift’. This is a significant theme of Baptiste Yoga. And, it’s not just a conceptual idea because the true disruption comes through new thought and new action on our mats and off. This is where life expands; new possibilities that were once out of view or off the radar suddenly become possible and even manifested.
What’s the drift? It could look like the regular patterns of day to day life which become week to week and year to year. Conversations complaining about traffic and the weather, having one too many or the infinite scroll of social media. The drift comes from outside – external forces, messages and habits that will pull us along unless we consciously plant our feet and take stock of where we are and if we want to be there or not.
In yoga practice we literally ground into our own two feet on the earth as a starting point. From there is an opportunity to clear our lens, see what we haven’t seen before and recover our hearts, minds and spirits. For me, it looks like tapping back into my heart and my body rather than being focused almost 100% on what is happening in my head. One of the most comforting and empowering messages I heard from my first teacher was that I already had everything I need. How amazing to hear that. Certain truths like that land deeply and resonate on a level beyond thinking or explaining. I knew in my soul that was true when she said it and it flies in the face of almost every other message we receive (except from Mr Rogers). A major drift disrupter.
Put another way, what happens when you pay attention? And I mean REALLY pay attention. Because the drift only pulls us along when we’re checked out and saying ‘this is just the way it is.’. What happens when you pay attention more closely to how you eat, relate to others, worship or parent? Hmmmmm.
We each have our own drift to work with. The current in 2019 feels particularly strong. And it takes consistent fortitude to disrupt that drift. Fortunately, we have each other in this together and the prize is a life that we choose for ourselves. With that, an expanded and better future for us all.
