Eyebrows furled, I lay on the massage table as the masseuse was pressing in between my eyes with his thumbs. Relax. Just relax. Over and over again I was commanding myself to relax without any progress. Then, a quiet voice whispered in my head, “let go, and you will go deeper still.”

Until that moment I didn’t realize that my body, not just my brows, was tense and clenched as I was demanding my body to do  relaxation. The invitation I found was to let go, and simply be. With my next exhale I physically and metaphorically let go.

How we show up for one thing is how we show up for everything. We’re constantly putting demands on our bodies to “chill out,” “just relax” or “get over it.”  But, I wonder if there’s something we can learn in untraining ourselves from constantly doing and instead create space for letting go and simply being.

We sit at desks all day typing with one hand, texting with the other, earbuds in either listening to music or talking on the phone. From all angles we have gadgets, social media, tasks, and people vying for our attention. Our goal is that we would find balance in the chaos, and stay grounded in the midst of hectic lives.

We’re best friends, photographers, and yogis in New York City, and we’ve found that yoga and friendship have helped us do just that: Stay balanced (and have fun while doing so).

This week we’re going to work our way into *headstand.