The Practice of Patience: Cultivating Steadiness Through Yoga November 8 2026
Patience has a way of finding us when we least expect it—sometimes in long lines, difficult conversations, or even a healing shoulder. Sometimes, however, patience eludes us. Lately, my injury has made me reflect on how infrequently patience came naturally to me. I am proud in many ways that I am like my father, but patience is one place where we both fell short. We were impatient with lines, foolish chatter, waiting for a check after dinner, and conversations we deemed vacuous or insincere—not our best trait, especially when our facial expressions revealed exactly what we were thinking.
I believe that age, life, and my yoga practice have improved my patience, and in turn, my edges have softened and I am a bit more relaxed. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, patience is the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed. That definition seems to accentuate external behaviors. I have always hoped patience eventually would emanate from within me; that I would cultivate intrinsic grace or serenity that would help me develop innate patience. It is a work in progress.
Another definition describes patience as diligently sticking with a task or long-term project through quiet, consistent effort. Perhaps the effort to become more patient is the actual task or project?
Our yoga practice is an example of cultivating patience. Yoga Sutra 1.14 explains that real transformation requires long-term, earnest practice carried out without interruption. Sutra 2.47 tells us that mastery in an asana (pose) is achieved through relaxed effort and presence rather than aggressive pushing. Patanjali was clearly exploring the importance of patience in developing a yoga practice. When we put aside expectations of "mastering" a pose in a way we think we should look, and embrace yoga with as practice (not perfection), we can fully experience what it offers us. As we yoke the mind, body and breath (the definition of yoga), we create patience by shifting out of life's daily stresses or demands and anchor ourselves in the present moment.
As we move into our yoga journey, as in our life journey, we engage in the interplay of sthira (strength/steadiness) and sukha (ease). As patience grows it helps us build inner stability (sthira) allowing us to meet external challenges and chaos with calm equanimity instead of panic or haste.
I am not yet a fully patient person, like any habit, we need to continually reengage the effort. When I have an impatient moment, I try to give myself grace, perhaps recite the serenity prayer, and begin to practice again. Yoga, after all, is a life long discipline and, like patience, is something that must be cultivated and practiced. A work in process.
Our Practice - Can Savasana Cultivate Patience?
For many of us, savasana is the most challenging pose of our practice. What tests patience more than being told to lie still, not think about anything, and let your body absorb the practice? That suggestion still has the power to make me immediately tense up, trying so hard to “do it right” that I begin a spiral of monkey-minded list-making. Letting go of “doing” and simply “being” requires significant self-compassion.
Since I struggle immensely with the pose, I offer a few suggestions. First, let go of your expectations for a perfect savasana. There is no prize for achieving a blank mind. Don’t scold yourself when your mind wanders; simply notice and gently bring it back. Remind yourself that transitioning from a busy day to an active yoga class—and then into stillness—is a significant change for the nervous system. Let yourself settle before expecting deep relaxation or an empty mind.
Finally, redefine what you consider a “successful” savasana. Feel joyful that you practiced and lay still-ish on your mat, breathing for five minutes. This, too, is yoga.
Meditating On Patience
Patience and fortitude conquer all things. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Impatience stems from an attachment to outcomes and a desire for control over things that are not within one's power. ~ Bhagavad Gita
See you on the mat,
Namaste,
Julia Anne
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