The Room of Requirement
Earlier this week I took a yoga class with my teacher, Chrissy Carter, and she referenced one of my favorite book series, Harry Potter. We were chatting about my basement and how each person in my family uses it for something different. It’s my yoga space, my daughter’s workout space, the room my husband goes to to watch football, and where my son plays music. Chrissy dubbed my basement The Room of Requirement for the Olson family.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, the Room of Requirement is a magical room in Hogwarts Castle that can provide or transform itself into anything that a witch or wizard requires at that moment in time.
In the book, Harry Potter asks the character Dobby about this magical room:
Harry Potter: “How many people know about it?”
Dobby: “Very few, sir. Mostly people stumbles across it when they needs it, sir, but often they never finds it again, for they do not know that it is always there waiting to be called into service, sir.”
My yoga practice is my Room of Requirement. For over 20 years, I have turned to my practice when I needed support. No matter what challenge or change I am going through, the practice is there for me. It’s not what I achieve on my mat that is important. It is simply the act of practicing that is the special sauce. Sometimes when I turn to my practice I’m on my mat exploring a particular asana. Other times I’m chopping vegetables in my kitchen with complete attention to my task. The support that I need in any particular moment will always be different, because I am always changing. But what never changes is the act of practicing.
In western culture we learn that success is measured by the quality of our achievement. So when I can no longer balance in crow pose because of an injury or less spectacularly, aging, does that mean that Yoga is not supporting me any longer? What I accomplish on my mat is not what I require. My requirement is remembering that this practice, in it’s infinite manifestations, is always here waiting to be called into service.
