Perhaps you've been told...

that bit of anecdotal realism:   In moments of struggle, or decision making, if you push too strongly against the flow of Life you are setting yourself up to lose.  The Universe will win.  My teacher says that does not quite capture the truth of it, but that the Universe has already won.  It has been written.  The Dharma suggests, and I believe, our capacity to navigate Life is an inside job.  Being a victor in this Life is not determined by how we strategize our outer layers (job, home, failures, successes, friends,where to live, or how to represent oneself in the world).  From the perspective of Yoga, success is largely how we meet those things that determines the victors or losers, as it were, in this Life.  It's not about what's happening to us.  It's about where the phenomenon of Life touches us inside, and what kind of subtle body feedback we have to it.  Then what we do as a response may compel us towards freedom from delusions that cause us to suffer, which is that winning what is already won I was talking about.  We are all human.  We all have our own personal, specific wounding that can capture us and cause us to see the world through a specific, limited lens.  If we continue to buy into our old wounding, it keeps us small.  What we experienced as young beings shaped our relationships in subtle ways that we are only just now beginning to comprehend the implications of.  It turns out the ones we love the most will touch our deepest wounds, trigger our ugliest or most damaging behaviors, and challenge our Life navigational skills with the relentlessness of a good teacher.  ....teacher?   Life is the best teacher I've found.  When I pay close attention to the outcomes of my actions and choices, I learn the best lessons.  When I cultivate more ease in any moment or when I feed the seeds of pain, I get INSTANT feedback in the present moment and beyond.  In particular, when I pay attention to more than just myself, Life's lessons have the most positive impact.  Path as guru means I learn to cultivate space in my inner koshas, so I've time to review my possible responses to the stimuli I register.   Immanuel Kant spoke of enlightenment as being an appropriate response.   What is the best outcome for all involved?  Life has won.  Things are happening.  I would say we can 'control' nothing in this life, but we can be in relationship to everything.  So, loser or victor can have many implications, all of which can be used for better or worse...just like the vrttis in Patanjalii's Yoga Sutras (YS1.5).   How are you relating to the events in your Life these days?    Is your Life informing your practice?  Is your practice helping you to relate to your Life in appropriate ways?  Can you be a good sport, a gracious loser?  Are you a humble winner?  Do you learn from all your experiences?  What gets in your way and what does it get in the way of?  With Dharma as the backdrop to your Life experiences, asana is always way more than just asana.  If you want more questions for your answers, full spectrum practice opportunities with Dharma discussions,  you might enjoy my offerings.  Check my website for details.  www.theresamurphy.net   All my love...