Relaxed Intensity

You can be intense without being tense.

Yesterday, while guiding us through a challenging series of poses, my yoga teacher talked about relaxed intensity. You can be intense without being tense.

I was introduced to the idea of relaxed intensity during labor with our third child. I needed an IV and was resisting. I’ve had dozens of IV’s, all of which involved three to five attempts, and often requiring an expert pediatric nurse to get it done. My veins are both tiny and prone to rolling. Ouch.

The labor and delivery nurse saw and felt my tension. But rather than soothing me with words, she pressed firmly on my third eye. At first it felt like an invasion of privacy; that’s my third eye lady?! But it immediately brought my focus to the tension I was holding in my face, and enabled me to focus my mind, but let my body go. Relaxed intensity. The IV slipped in on the first attempt.

My yoga teacher embodies this idea. He once casually said, “It’s drishti time,” like we were going to crack open beers instead of beginning a focused balance series; drishti required. Soft but strong. Move to become still. These contrasts are everywhere in Bali. And in our minds and bodies.

Namaslay.

Relaxed intensity, in the gift shop.

The relaxed intense setup of my class in Ubud.