A lighter, but thought provoking poem this week by Portia Nelson. It was enjoyable to read and gauge participants reactions as we moved through each chapter, the moments of recognition and understanding.

Portia Nelson

Autobiography In Five Short Chapters

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I fall in.

I am lost … I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place

but, it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in … it’s a habit.

my eyes are open

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

This poem feels a lot like the journey of yoga.

At first, we walk down the same street and fall into the same hole over and over again. Old habits, self doubt, comparison, perfectionism and the endless list of “shoulds” we carry: I should be further along. I should be stronger. I should be more flexible. I should be who others expect me to be.

That hole is often built from other people’s expectations and the ones we place on ourselves, but yoga invites us to notice the pattern. In the beginning, we may fall in without awareness. We react, repeat and then wonder why we feel stuck. But with practice, we start to see the hole before we step into it.

We pause.

We take responsibility.

We choose differently.

Yoga is not about becoming someone else; it is about remembering who we are underneath the conditioning. It teaches us to listen inward instead of chasing every outside voice telling us who we should be.

Eventually, like in the poem, we choose another street, the one that feels authentic. The one that allows us to be free.