Level Up Yoga, in case you hadn’t caught on yet, is a reference to gaming.  As a kid I started with Nintendo, moved through Super Nintendo, and although I missed a console here and there, I consider myself to be a gamer.  Not necessarily because I’m good at them – I’m not – but because I get addicted to the games and if I can mentally relate it to a video game, I will.

Games change our view of failure, an often crippling notion, and they empower us to stay persistent and think critically.  Jane McGonigal summarizes the concept in her TED Talk, “A traumatic event doesn’t doom us to suffer indefinitely. Instead, we can use it as a springboard to unleash our best qualities and lead happier lives.”  Studies show, that regardless of the prize when engaged in completing a task versus completing a task as a game, failing gamers are less likely to perceive the failure with negative emotion.  In short: if you mess up in a game it’s no big deal – have fun, try again.  Isn’t that the exact mentality some of us (yogis) pine for: a light-hearted spirit, full of curiosity, with freedom to fail and try again with no negative self-judgement?

There’s more to this fun though.  Some games require Leveling Up, or completing an activity to get stronger.  Leveling up will mean battling something that could hurt you so you can learn a new skill or at least get points towards learning a new skill one battle at a time.  When I was gaming as a kid I used to take the easy path to every spot.  There may have been enemies covering a map I needed to cross but I’d manage to make it through fighting only one or two enemies and choosing the “runaway” option when I knew I could get away with it.  Missing out on the battles meant I was missing out on whatever form of points I needed to become a stronger character.  By the time I was halfway through the game I had avoided so many battles and missed out on so many chances to level up that I couldn’t beat the new, more challenging enemies.  I still games on old consoles I’ve never beat because of this mistake and I hate to admit to other “gamers” the epic story lines I’ve missed out on because of this.

In life I also tend to run away from battle or the uncomfortable.  I would again miss out on epic stories and opportunities to grow out of fear of failure or fear of putting in the work.  Through yoga I learned the invaluable lesson of facing battles not just as fate forced me to meet them, but to embrace the moment deeply as part of my life experience.  This is naturally easier said than done.  Sitting in pain and choosing not to disassociate but choosing instead to curiously experience and learn from pain is a sought after skill whether you know you’re seeking it or not.

Yoga is far from being the only path to leveling up through discomfort.  Another example comes from Joe Rogan, comedian, actor, host of The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, and all around good guy often speaks about Jiu Jitsu in his podcast.  He lovingly describes his experiences in training and I can’t help but hear that he’s not just building strength and skill but also the meditative qualities we seek out in yoga practice.  In both these practices you’re invited to sit through physical discomfort and take pause.  You may have to sit in a painful lock the opponent has on you; you can either panic and flail, or sit in your discomfort and sort it out.  You then accept defeat  and learn something new about yourself or you escape and keep fighting.  In short, you endure a challenge to level up.

It is my deepest desire that we all can level up where we want and need to.  It is my deep desire that we can all shine brightly, if briefly, in this game.

Choosing to teach was not easy for someone of my character.  You may choose to read “of my character” as “workaholic ladder climber”.  I chose to meet this challenge with compassion and in the hope that I will be able to feel and fight and level up enough to have the grace to bring others with me.