“The way we do anything is the way we do everything.”
One of my favorite NoBo (North Boulder, for those of you not from here) CorePower instructors started a Tuesday night class last week with this snippet, and it caught my attention.
I know I need to find a way through this, but I tend to skip yoga when I’m in the middle of some traveling shenanigans, and that held true this past month between a couple of different trips. So, when I got back on my mat last Tuesday, I knew I was going to have to be kind to my body, gentle on my softer muscles, and aware of where my edge had receded from.
I heard these words as I found my way into downward dog and I deliberated how I was going to do any of the asanas in this class, and as I moved my way gently, lovingly, openly through each posture, I chewed on those words:
“The way we do anything is the way we do everything.”
The way we do anything. The way we talk to our friends, our family, ourselves. Is it loving? Is it defensive? The way we treat our bodies when we eat, when we’re active. Are we nurturing or are we stagnant?
I started considering this over and over, through warrior poses, triangle poses, and heart-openers. I focused on honoring where my body was on Tuesday night, not where it was BT (Before Travel) when yoga was a more frequent practice, and I considered how I treated every single moment. If the way I held reverse warrior was the way I approached relationships, passion, health, creativity, and ambition, then of course I wanted to hold reverse warrior with love, with patience, and with openness.
“The way we do anything is the way we do everything.”
How do I do relationships, passion, health, creativity, and ambition? Am I aware that the way I approach each of those things affects the way I perceive the others? How is my time being spent and where are my resources going?
Food for thought, huh?
How do YOU do anything?
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Doniree Walker is an aspiring yogini, jet-setter, foodie, and story-teller. She's a writer and geek girl by trade, and a lover and a connector by lifestyle, and is currently obsessed with: train travel, single-serving chocolate milk, and brand new notebooks. Oh, and she's also part supergirl. Wanna be friends? 
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I really like this idea- I think my answer is “all in” lol When I take something up I can’t let go until it’s finished, and I’m not good at halfway. That’s how Mister and I ended up moving in together after six months of dating & even how I blog! lol Great food for thought
Great post! Very insightful.
I think right now I’m struggling with doing anything to any degree worth mentioning. I go through phases, and sometimes I’m hard core into everything, excited for life. Other times I’m just passing through, hardly taking note.
I’m in the latter at this point, and I hate it. Struggling to get out of this slump…
Maybe I should start doing yoga….
Very thought-provoking… I haven’t thought of it this way. I think I need to think about this a little longer… but thanks for the inspiration!
Wow. That gives me a lot to think about. I never really connected how I think and behave toward myself to how I feel about others. I think there is a lot of wisdom in that quote. Thanks for sharing it.
Great post, Doni! That is such an interesting concept and something I think a lot more people need to think on, including myself! Thanks for sharing it
This is a good post, Doni. At first I wanted to say, “Well, this isn’t true, because we all approach relationships differently. For example, I talk to my friends differently than I speak to my clients.”
…but then I thought. It’s about the general scheme of things. Do I talk to one client with disdain? Does that mean I have some disdain inside of me that needs to be addressed? Do I give attitude to a friend? Do I have an issue that is really pulling at me that needs to be taken care of?
Eye-opener, thanks for this!
Even talking to clients differently than friends is “how” you do things to a degree. At least that’s how I read it.
This?
One of my favorite posts. And made me really think about how I do everything… or anything… and what kind of attitude I have with my life in general.
Fab post, lady!
xoxo
Why thank you love!
Such a good post and such a good reminder.
I loved when he said that because it’s so simple. We forget that everything affects everything it’s not just when we’re on top of it when we happen to have down time, if we don’t give ourselves that softness (busy or not) it can be hard.
girl, you are so hot when you get all philosophical!
two weeks ago, i bought two books at the same time: “the art of loving” and “yoga: the spirit and practice of moving into stillness”. both books were written by two different Erichs- that was enough kismet for me.
so, “the art of loving” makes the point that you can’t improve your romantic/erotic love without improving your effort in all forms of love- self-love, god-love, brotherly love. that love is so deep and all encompassing that you can’t see yourself one way, your partner another way and the world a third way. you have to have the same perspective all the way around.
the yoga book states love as the opposite of fear, and cites yoga as a method for cultivating and maintaining the courage to love yourself and the world instead of harboring fear in your heart and mind.
so i’m not sure how i do what i do right now, but i can tell you one thing with absolute certainty:
my goal is to do what i do with so much love that there is simply no room left for fear.
sweet, huh?
While sure, we all do things differently in different situations, I think there are always commonalities to how we “do life.” I think it’s meditation master Thinh Nact Hanh who writes about doing everything with the same focus: if you’re washing dishes, you’re only doing that and you’re concentrating and doing it lovingly, in the same mind you’d do anything else. It really is true that considering our intentions before doing anything will help make all things better. This makes me want to be more loving, slow down, and do even the most menial tasks with heart.
I LOVE that example you give with the dishes. That’s precisely what I mean. It has everything to do with the way we conduct ourselves and where our intentions lie, not only in those situations where we’re out in public.
Oo, I like this.
The way I do anything: with heart and soul. I throw myself into my projects, my job, my friends, school. It may not alwasy be the best or healthiest way to do things (like when I get overwhelmed but refuse to quit) but it’s how I live my life!
It is definitely food for thought. It’s all about presence and intention.
This has serious potential to be a lightbulb moment – now I just need to act upon it.
Funny that you talk often of CorePower and here this post is asking: “what is at your core?”
For me, I am always trying to help by being a problem solver. So while my intentions are good, those intentions are motivated by… well, some sadness to be honest (that I will not list here). BUT being able to come from a lack of something, to problem solving, to overcoming an obstacle – that’s what drives me. In everything. And I never forget that.
But this quote you’ve based your post on – ties all that up into a nice, more understandable package. Awesome.
I wish there were a Facebook “Like” button on this post.
I wish there were a Facebook “Like” button on you. Also, how can I put Facebook “Like” buttons on my posts?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, about the sum of the parts that make us who we are, and I really believe this quote hits it all perfectly on its little head. I believe that we are our behaviors. We are what we do. And if that’s true, then how we do anything is how we do everything, because even that one “anything” contributes to our “everything” when combined with all the other anythings in our life.
Made me think about how current or present moment is affected by my approach. So I’ve been in a hell of a bad mood and everything and everything is part of that. My anything and my everything is caught up in the how of the evil mood even when each task or interaction has nothing to do with where the mood came from. Stopped me in my tracks. Thanks.
Such a great quote! I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog – it is great food for thought!
I have a hard time doing anything without thinking about what’s next. Staying intent on one task at a time is so hard for me, but something I’m working on.
I’ve also been away from my mat for too long after my move and the time it has taken to adjust to my new neighborhood and home.
This is a great perspective on getting back to yoga and adjusting to a new schedule. I’m going to move forward with the goal of openness and perseverance…for everything.
xo
“The way we do anything is the way we do everything.” — I love this. It really got me thinking and made me want to make more of an effort, starting from the little things like actually cleaning my bathroom mirrors! Thanks so much for sharing this bit of philosophical wisdom!
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