My Yoga Practice and Netflix "Roma"

I watch "Roma" on Netflix over and over again. I love some scenes where the protagonist, housemaid Cleo, does a pose that “requires physical and mental unity” (which is actually quite difficult!) in a place where the boys are practicing martial arts. I also like other scenes where her employer is garaging the car.

In a recent yoga class, I think I somehow figured out why I like those scenes so much.

People often tell me that I’m doing too much: working too hard or putting strain on my muscles. To be honest, I don’t mean to work that hard, but I just don’t know how to relax. For example, my movement becomes unsteady when I try to do my best in my yoga pose, especially when the pose is challenging to me while others around me can easily do it. However, if I look at myself objectively and just focus on my breathing, I can get the pose done better than I think.

“Relaxing” or “being laid back” doesn’t mean being lazy, but it may mean stopping to think about yourself from the perspective of centering yourself and observing your mental state carefully in a calm way. Perhaps the key to relaxing yourself might be to look at yourself objectively.

Even when Cleo is pregnant, with her protruding belly, she poses gracefully in the hustle and bustle of the boys' place. Her mind is calm and collected in the face of the many social and personal challenges of her daily life.
 
Meanwhile, Cleo's employer is also under stress from a marriage that is not going well. The luxury car she drives is large and barely fits into the garage at home. When she is frustrated, she forces the car into the garage, scratches the paint, and smashes the light. This is somewhat symbolic of the strength of her ego.

She changes her car to a smaller one when she objectifies her life and decides to get a divorce. "Doing too much" might be like choosing a luxury car that doesn't fit the width of your garage and makes you look reckless.

When I got this, I found myself naturally doing the crow pose, which I had never been able to do before.